Bipolar resistive switching characteristics in tantalum nitride-based resistive random access memory devices

This paper reports the bipolar resistive switching characteristics of TaNx-based resistive random access memory (ReRAM). The conduction mechanism is explained by formation and rupture of conductive filaments caused by migration of nitrogen ions and vacancies; this mechanism is in good agreement with either Ohmic conduction or the Poole-Frenkel emission model. The devices exhibit that the reset voltage varies from -0.82V to -0.62 V, whereas the set voltage ranges from 1.01V to 1.30V for 120 DC sweep cycles. In terms of reliability, the devices exhibit good retention (> 10(5) s) and pulse-switching endurance (> 10(6) cycles) properties. These results indicate that TaNx-based ReRAM devices have a potential for future nonvolatile memory devices. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.