Probing electron density across Ar+ irradiation-induced self-organized TiO2-x nanochannels for memory application

The variation of electron density in TiO2-x nanochannels, exhibiting resistive switching phenomenon, produced by Ar+ ion-irradiation at the threshold fluence of 5 x 10(16) ions/cm2 is demonstrated by X-ray reflectivity (XRR). The transmission electron microscopy reveals the formation of nanochannels, while the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirms Ti enrichment near the surface due to ion-irradiation, in consistent with the increase in electron density by XRR measurements. Such a variation in Ti concentration indicates the evolution of oxygen vacancies (OVs) along the TiO2-x nanochannels, and thus paves the way to explain the operation and performance of the Pt/TiO2-x/Pt-based memory devices via OV migration. Published by AIP Publishing.