Nonvolatile Electrochemical Metallization Memory Based on Nanocrystalline La2O3 Solid Electrolyte Thin Film

Nanocrystalline La2O3 thin films are deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The Ag/La2O3/Pt devices exhibit reversible bipolar resistance change over 1000 cycles with a resistance ratio (high resistance state to low resistance state) of over three orders of magnitude and stable retention for over 10(6) s at room temperature. Analysis indicates that the resistance change originates from the formation/rupture of Ag filaments in the La2O3 thin films, which act as a solid electrolyte. The device shows potential for multilevel storage as well as low power consumption applications.