Investigation of physically transient resistive switching memory based on GeO2 thin films

Physically transient resistive switching memory has attracted much attention in recent years for potential applications in security information storage and environmental protection. Herein, we demonstrated that resistive switching memory composed of Ag/GeO2/fluorine-doped tin oxide structures exhibited remarkable electrical properties and could be rapidly dissolved by de-ionized water. The robust capabilities of the as-fabricated memory with more than 100 enduring cycles, a comparable resistance window larger than the OFF/ON ratio of 10(2), and a long retention time of more than 10h was achieved. In addition, the degradable characteristics were demonstrated by the dissolution of amorphous GeO2 thin films in de-ionized water with the disappearance of resistive switching properties. Furthermore, the switching mechanism has been explained by the filament model, and the degradable mechanism of GeO2 films has been investigated by the change of chemical bonds and resistive switching properties in different humidity environments. Our results suggest that GeO2-based resistive switching memory could find opportunities for applications in physically transient electronics.