Optimizing molybdenum oxide based RRAM with vacuum rapid thermal annealing and carbon quantum dots

The performance of resistive random access memory (RRAM) is significantly influenced by the dielectric layer and interface. In this study, the vacuum rapid thermal annealing (VacRTA) process and the incorporation of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were employed to enhance the device performance. The VacRTA process induced extra oxygen vacancies in the MoOx film, reducing the energy required for the formation of Ag conductive filaments (CFs). In addition, CQDs were spin-coated on the bottom electrode (BE) interface to effectively fix the position of Ag CFs formation and rupture. The improved device exhibits remarkable performance enhancements compared to the pristine device, including a centralized distribution of resistance states and operating voltages, extended endurance cycles (1 × 107), enhanced cell-to-cell coherence, and favorable neural synaptic properties. These results demonstrate the potential of CQDs incorporated MoOx based RRAM for next generation non-volatile memory and neural synapse simulation. •The RRAM performance was improved by vacuum rapid thermal annealing and carbon QDs.•Device shows stable resistance, 107 endurance cycles, high cell coherence, synapse.•Device hits ∼91 % inference accuracy in handwritten digit recognition.