A Comprehensive Simulation Study on Metal Conducting Filament Formation in Resistive Switching Memories

The conducting metal filament formation process of a typical resistive switching memory is comprehensively studied using Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation, which includes multiple physical and chemical mechanisms. The characteristics of the forming voltage, forming time and the so called "Voltage-time dilemma" are investigated. In addition filament topographies, which strongly influence device properties, are studied under different device operation conditions. Simulated I-V characteristics are determined and illustrated. Further, studies on filament overgrowth and on-state resistance are presented. Finally, the influence of the size of the device on the forming voltage is simulated.