Layered SnSe nanoflakes with anharmonic phonon properties and memristive characteristics

[Display omitted] •60 μm × 35 μm layered SnSe flakes have been synthesized by PVT.•SAED reveals (100) surface of orthorhombic crystals.•Polarized Raman spectroscopy explains structural and vibrational properties.•3 V non-volatile switching proves low power consumption of two terminal devices. Understanding the phonon anharmonicity and temperature-dependent behavior of phonons that affect the thermal transport properties in 2D materials is crucial for developing efficient thermoelectric and memristor devices. SnSe has attracted significant interest because of its potential applications for developing such novel devices. Here, orthorhombic SnSe nanoflakes with a thickness of less than 100 nm and oriented along the [100] crystal axis were obtained using physical vapor transport at atmospheric pressure. Polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy of SnSe nanoflakes was performed at a temperature of 5 K. Temperature-dependent frequencies and linewidths of Raman modes in tin selenide were fitted according to the anharmonic phonon coupling theory. The results indicate that both two and three order processes are responsible for the phonon decay in tin selenide. The memristive property was confirmed by electrical measurements of SnSe devices. SnSe memristors have an operating current of 10−4 A, similar to other transition-metal dichalcogenide memristors, but are more energy efficient than memristors based on defect migration, with a threshold voltage of 3 V.