Memristors Based on GeSixOy Glass Films on p+-Si Substrate

The creation of a new universal nonvolatile memory is one of the most actual problems in nanoelectronics. Recently, it has been believed that memristors are one of the most promising devices for creating such memory. A memristor is a device with two contacts in which it is possible to controllably and reproducibly switch between resistance states by passing current pulses. The search for new materials for memristors is proceeding on a broad front; materials with low bond enthalpy, such as germanium and tin oxides, are promising for reducing switching energy. It is also expected that the use of multilayer structures will help improve the performance of memristors. Nonstoichiometric germanosilicate glass (GeSixOy) films and many-layer structures based on them were deposited using high-vacuum electron beam vapor deposition. The GeO2, SiO, SiO2, or Ge powders were co-evaporated and deposited onto p+-Si(001) substrate (held at room temperature) with resistivity ρ = 0.002 Ω cm. The transparent in visible and near infrared range indium-tin-oxide (ITO) contact was deposited as the top electrode, and memristor metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures were fabricated. Then the MIS structures were annealed at temperature 500°C. The as-deposited and annealed MIS structures were studied by Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The current-voltage characteristics (I–V) and resistive switching cycles of the MIS have been studied. The advantages of GeSixOy based memristors are: low voltage for ON and OFF switching; they do not require a preliminary special “forming” procedure; the appearance of intermediate resistance states, what is perspective for producing of multibit and “analogous” memristors.