Carbon nanotube network-silicon oxide non-volatile switches

The integration of carbon nanotubes with silicon is important for their incorporation into next-generation nano-electronics. Here we demonstrate a non-volatile switch that utilizes carbon nanotube networks to electrically contact a conductive nanocrystal silicon filament in silicon dioxide. We form this device by biasing a nanotube network until it physically breaks in vacuum, creating the conductive silicon filament connected across a small nano-gap. From Raman spectroscopy, we observe coalescence of nanotubes during breakdown, which stabilizes the system to form very small gaps in the network similar to 15 nm. We report that carbon nanotubes themselves are involved in switching the device to a high resistive state. Calculations reveal that this switching event occurs at similar to 600 degrees C, the temperature associated with the oxidation of nanotubes. Therefore, we propose that, in switching to a resistive state, the nanotube oxidizes by extracting oxygen from the substrate.