Influence of Incorporated Pt-Fe2O3 Core-Shell Nanoparticles on the Resistive Switching Characteristics of ZnO Thin Film

The resistance-switching characteristics of metal oxides have attracted great interest for the nonvolatile memory applications such as resistive random access memory. A basic resistive random access memory device has a metal/insulator/metal structure, and its memory effect is achieved by applying voltage to change the resistance of the insulating layer. One of the promising candidates for explaining the resistance-switching mechanism is the formation and rupture of nanoscale conductive filaments. However, this model has an issue that needs to be addressed: the wide distribution of switching voltage due to randomly formed filaments. Therefore, some researchers have reported a decrease in switching voltage distribution and an increase in switching stability by incorporating nanoparticles into the insulating layer. In this study, we investigated influence of incorporated Pt-Fe2O3 core shell nanoparticles on the resistive switching characteristics of ZnO thin films. Devices were fabricated on SiO2 wafers. A 100-nm-thick Cr layer was used as the bottom electrode. A 50-nm-thick ZnO layer was deposited using the sputtering method, and Pt-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were deposited on it by the dip coating method. A 50-nm-thick ZnO layer was then deposited again. A top Cr electrode (size: 100 mu m x 100 mu m) was deposited using a shadow mask and sputtering system. All the devices showed bipolar resistance-switching behavior that is observed in Cr/ZnO/Cr structures. However, the on/off voltage was dramatically lowered by incorporating nanoparticles into the insulating layer when compared with that of the devices without nanoparticles. In addition, the switching stability of the devices was improved upon the incorporation of nanoparticles. On the basis of these results, we can conclude that Pt-Fe2O3 nanoparticles may be used to enhance the resistance switching properties of ZnO thin films by incorporating them into the films.