Modeling of the temperature effects in filamentary-type resistive switching memories using quantum point-contact theory

Electron transport in filamentary-type resistive switching memories is modeled using quantum point-contact theory. The filament is represented by a parabolic-shaped tube-like constriction in which the first quantized subband behaves as a one-dimensional tunneling barrier. Computation of the current flowing through the atomic-sized structure is carried out by means of the finite-bias Landauer approach. Different approximations for the barrier transmission coefficient are assessed with the aim of determining the role played by the temperature of the charge reservoirs. In order to corroborate the proposed model, current-voltage measurements in electroformed Ni/HfO2/Si devices operating in the non-linear transport regime were performed in the temperature range from −40 C to 200 C. Obtained results using inverse modeling indicate that a temperature-induced barrier lowering effect explains the experimental observations. Finally, the model proposed to calculate the device current including the temperature dependence is developed.