(Invited) The Interplay between Electronic and Ionic Transport in the Resistive Switching Process of Random Access Memory Devices

The formation of conductive filamentary structures characteristic to the "ON" state (or LRS - low resistance state) of the resistance based memory devices were studied using ab initio simulation techniques. The atomistic description of the rupturing/dissolution process into the "OFF" state of the memory operation (HRS - high resistance state) was found to involve both ionic and electronic transport processes. Moreover, electron and hole trapping effects were shown to have a significant role in the switching process under applied electrical field. While hole injection into oxygen reduced transition metal oxides containing a formed filament can favor the dissolution process, electron injection induces filament formation. As possible ways to achieve improved device characteristics, preferential impurity doping in these types of systems is proposed to favorably affect and control the "ON" - "OFF" transition process.