Bipolar resistive switching behavior in Ti/MnO2/Pt structure of nonvolatile Memory Devices

Abstract

We examined the electrical properties of Ti/MnO2/Pt devices with stable and reproducible bipolar resistive switching behavior. The dependency of the memory behavior on the cell area and operating temperature suggest that the conducting mechanism in the low resistance states is due to the locally conducting filaments formed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that non-lattice oxygen ions form at the MnO2 surface. The mechanism of resistance switching in the system examined involves the generation and recovery of oxygen vacancies with the non-lattice oxygen ions. The Ti/MnO2/Pt device has potential applications in nonvolatile resistive switching memory devices due to the reasonable switching endurance over the course of 105 cycles, long term retention at 85 ºC and a uniform distribution of both resistance states and operation voltage. A high content of non-lattice oxygen ions exists on the MnO2 film surface. The switching behavior can be explained by the generation and recovery of oxygen vacancies with non-lattice oxygen ions.