Electrical properties of electrochemically prepared thin polytetrahydrofuran films II: Characterization under D.C. conditions

The electrical characteristics of electrochemically prepared polytetrahydrofuran (poly-THF) films were studied under d.c. conditions. At low fields (?10⁵ V cm^?1) a phonon-assisted hopping conduction occurs in poly-THF films 2000 Å thick. The low temperature dependence of the conductivity (T< 243 K) is related to interchain hopping, whereas the high temperature dependence of the conductivity (>320 K) is ascribed to trap hopping. At high fields (E>10⁵ V cm^?1) and high temperatures (T>320 K) Schottky conduction is observed and the Schottky barrier height depends both on the electrode metal and on the field direction. At temperatures below 320 K, Poole-Frenkel conduction occurs and the current intensity is independent of the nature of the electrodes and of the field direction. At very low temperatures (T<100 K) and high fields (E>10⁶ V cm^?1), thermally assisted tunnel effect conduction (δj∞T²) is observed. These changes in conduction with the temperature and the field are ascribed to changes in the polymer structure.     

Electrical conduction of erbium fluoride thin films

Thin-film capacitors of erbium fluoride were fabricated by electron beam gun deposition. The current-voltage characteristics of the erbium fluoride films were studied in the temperature range 323 to 396 K. For sufficiently high electric fields (>10⁴ V cm^–1), the leakage current increases exponentially with the square root of the applied field. Analysis of the data suggests an electrode-limited mechanism such as that suggested by Schottky. It is seen that the conduction mechanism is an activated process with the activation energy decreasing with increasing field.     

Electrical conduction in evaporated terbium fluoride thin films

The current-voltage characteristics of thin-film capacitors with evaporated terbium fluoride dielectric have been studied as a function of temperature (in the range 300 to 418 K). For sufficiently high electric fields (> 10⁴ V cm^–1, the leakage current is found to increase exponentially with the square root of the applied electric field. Analysis of the data suggests an electrode-limited mechanism such as that suggested by Schottky. It is seen that the conduction mechanism is an activated process with the activation energy decreasing with increasing field. Dielectric break-down and its dependence on film thickness have also been investigated. Break-down field strength follows the Forlani-Minnaja relation.     

D.c. conduction studies on thermally evaporated neodymium oxide thin films

Aluminium-neodymium oxide-aluminium thin film capacitors have been prepared by thermal evaporation and the d.c. conduction properties of these films have been studied. The thicknesses of the films have been determined by a multiple beam interferometer. The current-voltage power-law dependence showed that the conduction in these films is space-charge limited. The linear dependence of the current density on the square root of the applied field confirmed the exponential trap distribution. The trap density has been found to be of the order of 10²⁶ m^–3. It has also been observed that the Schottky type of conduction is predominant in the high-field region and the height of the Schottky barrier has been determined. It is seen that the conduction mechanism is an activated process with the activation energy decreasing with increasing field.     

Resistive switching phenomena of tungsten nitride thin films with excellent CMOS compatibility

We report the resistive switching (RS) characteristics of tungsten nitride (WN_x) thin films with excellent complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility. A Ti/WN_x/Pt memory cell clearly shows bipolar RS behaviors at a low voltage of approximately ±2.2 V. The dominant conduction mechanisms at low and high resistance states were verified by Ohmic behavior and trap-controlled space-charge-limited conduction, respectively. A conducting filament model by a redox reaction explains the RS behavior in WN_x films. We also demonstrate the memory characteristics during pulse operation, including a high endurance over >10⁵ cycles and a long retention time of >10⁵ s.     

Study of the electrical properties of pulsed laser ablated (Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 thin films

The laser ablated barium strontium titanate (BST) thin films were characterized in terms of composition, structure, microstructure and electrical properties. Films deposited at 300°C under 50 mTorr oxygen pressure and 3 J cm⁻² laser fluence and further annealed at 600°C in flowing oxygen showed a dielectric constant of 467 and a dissipation factor of 0.02. The room-temperature current-voltage characteristics revealed a space charge limited conduction (SCLC) mechanism, though at low fields the effect of the electrodes was predominant. The conduction mechanism was thoroughly-investigated in terms of Schottky emission at low fields, and bulk-limited SCLC at high fields. The change over to the bulk-limited conduction process from the electrode-limited Schottky emission was, attributed to the process of tunneling through the electrode interface at high fields resulting into the lowering of the electrode contact resistance and consequently giving rise to a bulk limited conduction process. The predominance of SCLC mechanism in the films suggests that the bulk properties are only revealed if the depletion width at the electrode interface is thin enough to allow the tunneling process to take place. This condition is only favorable if the film thickness is high or if the doping concentration is high enough. In the present case the film thickness ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 μm which was suitable to show the transition mentioned above.     

Electrical conduction mechanism in solution grown thin polyvinylchloride (PVC) films

The electrical transport behaviour of thin polyvinylchloride (PVC) films deposited by the solution growth technique has been investigated. The current transport in PVC films of 2500 Å thickness at temperatures below 250 K is ascribed to hopping mechanisms. The weak temperature dependence of the conductivity is attributed to interchain hopping, whereas the strong temperature dependence is attributed to the trap hopping process. The conductivity of PVC films is increased on doping with iodine. This is interpreted on the basis of the formation of charge transfer complexes in the film. The activation energy for conduction increases from 0.7 to 1.22 eV at 315 K and decreases from 2.2 to 0.8 eV at 375 K on doping PVC films with iodine (0.7 g of iodine per 100 ml PVC solution). At high (≧5 × 10⁴ V cm^-1) fields and at higher (≧350 K) temperatures, the observed conduction behaviour can be described by the Schottky emission mechanism. The height of the Schottky barrier is found to depend on the type of the metal electrode and the direction of the current. The barrier height decreases with increasing iodine concentration in the PVC films.     

Unipolar resistive switching behavior of BiFeO3 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃, BFO) thin films were spin-coated on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a chemical solution deposition method. The ferroelectric BFO films annealed at 500 °C and 550 °C were found to possess unipolar resistive switching behaviors. The resistance ratio of the high resistance state (HRS) to the low resistance state (LRS) of the unipolar resistance switching is about 10³ for the ferroelectric BFO films. The conduction mechanisms are concluded to be space charge-limited conduction for the initial state and Ohmic conduction for the LRS. As for the HRS, the Poole-Frenkel emission fits well in the whole voltage region. Traps composed of oxygen vacancies are considered to play a key role in forming conducting paths. The relaxation time of electronic carriers is much shorter than that of ionic oxygen vacancies; therefore, the resistance switching is considered more probably due to carrier injection and emission through the Poole-Frenkel model after forming.     

Independent Memcapacitive Switching Triggered by Bromide Ion Migration for Quaternary Information Storage

Memcapacitors are emerging as an attractive candidate for high‐density information storage due to their multilevel and adjustable capacitances and long‐term retention without a power supply. However, knowledge of their memcapacitive mechanism remains unclear and accounts for the limited implementation of memcapacitors for multilevel memory technologies. Here, repeatable and reproducible quaternary memories fabricated from hybrid perovskite (CH₃NH₃SnBr₃) memcapacitors are reported. The device can be modulated to at least four capacitive states ranging from 0 to 169 pF with retention for 10⁴ s. Impressively, an effective device yield approaching 100% for quaternary memory switching is achieved by a batch of devices; each state has a sufficiently narrow distribution that can be distinguished from the others and is superior to most multilevel memories that have a low device yield as well as an overlapping distribution of states. The memcapacitive switching stems from the modulated p–i–n junction capacitance triggered by Br^? migration, as demonstrated by in situ element mapping, X‐ray photoelectron spectra, and frequency‐dependent capacitance measurements; this mechanism is different from the widely reported memristive switching involving filamentary conduction. The results provide a new way to produce high‐density information storage through memcapacitors.     

Surface conduction behaviour of 100 Mev Si ion irradiated kapton-H polyimide

The surface conduction behaviour of kapton-H polyimide irradiated with 100 MeV Si⁺ ion (Fluences 2.3 × 10¹¹, 2.3 × 10¹² and 1.3 × 10¹³ ions/cm²) has been investigated in the temperature range 21 to 150°C. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in the low field region i.e., below 10 kV/cm show ohmic behaviour whereas non-linearity occurs in the high field region. The non-linear region is temperature dependent. The nature of I-V characteristics of pristine kapton-H samples doesnt differ much from the irradiated samples suggesting that the surface charge conduction mechanisms are not much affected due to irradiation. The ionic jump distance estimations (3–18 Å) supports to ionic conduction process below 110°C. The Poole-Frenkel and Schottky coefficient estimations show that Poole-Frenkel and Schottky conduction mechanisms are operative at moderate and low temperatures, respectively. The observed change in surface resistivity () in the irradiated samples has been associated to the increase in delocalized -electrons and cross-linking.     

Low power and stable resistive switching in graphene oxide-based RRAM embedded with ZnO nanoparticles for nonvolatile memory applications

The present study reports the role of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) embedded in graphene oxide (GO)-based RRAM for non-volatile memory applications. GO thin film embedded with different concentrations of ZnO NPs was deposited on bottom electrode, i.e., indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass. Thermal evaporation technique was used for the fabrication of top electrodes for electrical measurements. Structural and morphological studies of synthesized GO and ZnO NPs were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Switching characteristics of the RRAM devices were investigated using electrical measurements. It has been observed that the optimized concentration of ZnO NPs (20%) shows stable switching behavior with low SET (??0.61 V) and RESET (+?0.65 V) voltages as compared to pure GO devices. The switching of the fabricated memory devices from high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS) has been found due to conductive filament formed between top and bottom electrodes. This conductive filament has been confirmed by the change in resistance as a function of temperature. The Al/GO-ZnO(20%)/ITO devices show stable endurance behavior for >?50 cycles and retention behavior for >?4?×?10³ s. In HRS, the dominated conduction mechanism was found to be space-charge limited conduction (SCLC), whereas in LRS, the Ohmic conduction mechanism was observed. The incorporation of ZnO NPs increased the number of oxygen vacancies in switching layer which eventually enhanced the formation of conductive filament. This phenomenon has been confirmed using XPS characterization of the switching layer. These optimized concentrations of ZnO embedded in GO switching layers provide a way for future low power non-volatile memory devices.

     

Electrical switching in benzidine-DDQ under pressure

The effect of pressure on non-ohmic conduction and electrical switching in the charge transfer complex benzidine-DDQ has been studied up to a pressure of 7·66 GPa at a temperature of 300K. Pulsed I-V measurements reveal heating contribution to non-ohmicity and switching. At high electric fields (∼ 3 × 10³ V/cm), the sample switches from high resistance OFF state of several kiloohms to low resistance ON state of several ohms. Temperature dependence of conductivity of ON state show semiconducting behaviour with very low activation energy.     

Mechanisms of current conduction in Pt/BaTiO3/Pt resistive switching cell

The 80-nm-thickness BaTiO₃ (BT) thin film was prepared on the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate by the RF magnetron sputtering technique. The Pt/BT/Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si structure was investigated using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The current-voltage characteristic measurements were performed. The bipolar resistive switching behavior was found in the Pt/BT/Pt cell. The current-voltage curves were well fitted in different voltage regions at the high resistance state (HRS) and the low resistance state (LRS), respectively. The conduction mechanisms are concluded to be Ohmic conduction and Schottky emission at the LRS, while space-charge-limited conduction and Poole-Frenkel emission at the HRS. The electroforming and switching processes were explained in terms of the valence change mechanism, in which oxygen vacancies play a key role in forming conducting paths.     

Electrical studies on sputtered CuCl thin films

CuCl is a wide-direct band gap semiconductor, lattice matched to Si and it possesses excellent ultra violet (UV) emission properties. It is thus a promising candidate for the next generation Si based UV optoelectronics. CuCl films were deposited using RF magnetron sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the grains are strongly <111> oriented. Triangular crystallites of CuCl were observed in the AFM surface topograph. Au–CuCl–Si–Au structures were fabricated and field dependent electrical studies were carried out in the electric field range of 1.25 × 10⁶ to 2.5 × 10⁷ V/m. I–V characteristics show that ohmic conduction prevails in low electric fields up to 2.5 × 10⁶ V/m. In the higher field range, from 2.5 × 10⁶ to 2.5 × 10⁷ V/m, the conduction mechanism was Schottky emission controlled. There was no trap related charge transport observed at higher electric fields. Preliminary electrical studies are reported in this article.     

Electrical properties of iron phthalocyanine thin film device using gold and aluminium electrodes

The electrical conductivity of FePc thin film sandwich structures using gold and aluminium electrodes has been investigated for the freshly prepared devices and device after exposure to oxygen for 30 days. Current density-voltage characteristics of the devices in the forward bias showed an ohmic conduction in lower voltages and a space charge limited conduction (SCLC) controlled by a single and an exponential trapping levels at two different ranges of applied voltages. The hole concentrations are obtained as P _o = 3.92 × 10¹⁶ m⁻³ with a hole mobility μ = 5.81 × 10⁻⁶ m⁻¹ V⁻¹ s⁻¹. In the SCLC region a discrete trap level of 1.88 × 10²¹ m⁻³ is found at 0.66 eV followed by an exponential trap distribution of P _e = 4.63 × 10⁴⁶ J ⁻¹ m⁻³ at N _t(e) = 2.23 × 10²⁶ m⁻³. From the current limitations in the reverse bias, the conduction is identified as an electrode limited Schottky type of conduction. In the oxygen-doped samples, both in the forward and reverse bias the order of currents are much enhanced and a transition from the ohmic conduction to a space charged conduction is observed.     

Schottky barrier mediated single-polarity resistive switching in Pt layer-included TiO(x) memory device

A distinct unipolar but single-polarity resistive switching behavior is observed in a TiO(x)/Pt/TiO(x) trilayer structure, formed by thermal oxidation of a Ti/Pt/Ti stack. As a comparison, a memory device with a single TiO(x) active layer (without addition of Pt midlayer) is also fabricated but it cannot perform resistive switching. Energy band diagrams are illustrated to realize the modulation of Schottky barrier junctions and current conduction in TiO(x)-based devices under various biasing polarities. Introduction of the Pt midlayer creates two additional Schottky barriers, which mediate the band bending potential at each metal-oxide interface and attains a rectifying current conduction at the high-resistance state. The rectifying conduction behavior is also observed with an AFM-tip as the top electrode, which implies the rectifying property is still valid when miniaturizing the device to nanometer scale. The current rectification consequently leads to a single-polarity, unipolar resistive switching and electrically rewritable performance for the TiO(x)/Pt/TiO(x) device.     

Electrode-limited conduction in amorphous boron films I. D.C. measurements

The conduction mechanism in amorphous boron films sandwiched between plane gold electrodes has been investigated. The films, in the thickness range 3000–8000 Å, were obtained by the vacuum evaporation technique. The conduction process was examined in the temperature range 260–403 K with applied electric fields ranging from 10³ to 10⁵ V cm^-1. The temperature and field dependences of the current flowing through the insulator are understandable in terms of the thermal emission of charge carriers over the Schottky barrier of a blocking contact. The theory of this type of electrode-limited conduction, derived by Simmons, predicts a current-voltage relationship of the type $\text{J～}\text{exp}\text{(β V}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>4</mtext>}}$. A good fit of the experimental J-V curves to this relationship is obtained. Furthermore, a set of parameters has been calculated: the height and the transmission coefficient of the potential barrier are respectively 0.43 eV and 10^-13, and the donor density within the insulator is equal to about 10²¹ cm^-3.     

Optical and electrical characteristics of amorphous boron carbonitride thin films deposited by radiofrequency sputtering

Amorphous boron carbonitride (a-BCN) thin films were deposited by reactive radiofrequency (RF) sputtering onto silicon and glass substrates, from a boron carbide target in an atmosphere composed of a mixture of argon and nitrogen. The a-BCN films were highly transparent (almost 85%) in the visible and near-infrared regions. The optical band gap and the refractive index in the near-infrared region of the a-BCN films were found to be, respectively, in the range of 3.6 and 1.68 eV. The electrical characterization of the a-BCN films for application as an intermetal dielectric was investigated by measuring the current–voltage characteristic in Al/a-BCN/n-Si/Al structure. The electrical resistivity at room temperature, determined in the low voltage region where the Ohmic conduction mechanism is dominant, is around 2 × 10¹⁰ Ω cm. The electrical conduction results, in the high-applied fields, were interpreted in terms of a Schottky mechanism. The dielectric constant is about 2.83 and is consistent with the optical results.     

Memory switching in polycrystalline silicon films

Non-volatile memory switching has been observed in polycrystalline silicon layers produced by chemical vapor deposition. Evidence for filamentary conduction is found for devices which are in their low impedance state. Devices have been cycled through high and low impedance states up to a maximum of 2x10⁴ times. Exposure to transient ionizing electron radiation caused the devices to switch to their low impedance state.     

Current conduction mechanisms in HfO2 and SrHfON thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors incorporating HfO₂ and SrHfON gate dielectrics were fabricated by magnetron sputtering. The interface quality, thermal stability, and electrical properties of the MOS capacitors have been investigated. Compared to HfO₂ dielectric film, SrHfON dielectric film has thin interface layer with Si substrate, good thermal stability, and low leakage current densities. The dominant current conduction mechanisms (CCMs) of HfO₂ film are Schottky emission or Poole–Frenkel emission at low and high electric fields. The main CCMs of SrHfON film are Schottky emission or Poole–Frenkel emission at low electric field, whereas, the CCMs are replaced by space charge limited current at high electric field.