Electrical Current Distribution across a Metal-Insulator-Metal Structure during Bistable Switching

Copyright © (2001) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics

Combining scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging with transport measurements, it is shown that the current flowing across a two-terminal oxide-based capacitor-like structure is preferentially confined in areas localized at defects. As the thin-film device switches between two different resistance states, the distribution and intensity of the current paths, appearing as bright spots, change. This implies that switching and memory effects are mainly determined by the conducting properties along such paths. A model based on the storage and release of charge carriers within the insulator seems adequate to explain the observed memory effect.

By: C. Rossel, G. I. Meijer, D. Bremaud,and D. Widmer

Published in: Journal of Applied Physics, volume 90, (no 6), pages 2892-8 in 2001

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