Resistive Switching Acceleration Induced by Thermal Confinement

Enhancing the switching speed of oxide-based memristive devices at a low voltage level is crucial for their use as non-volatile memory and their integration into emerging computing paradigms such as neuromorphic computing. Efforts to accelerate the switching speed often result in an energy trade-off, leading to an increase in the minimum working voltage. In this study, an innovative solution is presented: the introduction of a low thermal conductivity layer placed within the active electrode, which impedes the dissipation of heat generated during the switching process. The result is a notable acceleration in the switching speed of the memristive model system SrTiO3 by a remarkable factor of 103, while preserving the integrity of the switching layer and the interfaces with the electrodes, rendering it adaptable to various filamentary memristive systems. The incorporation of HfO2 or TaOx as heat-blocking layers not only streamlines the fabrication process but also ensures compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. Enhancing the switching speed of oxide-based memristive devices at a low voltage level is crucial for their use as non-volatile memory and their integration into emerging computing paradigms such as neuromorphic computing. In this work, a x1000 acceleration of the SET speed, or up to 30% reduction of the operating voltage in filamentary valence change mechanism (VCM) memristors is demonstrated by thermally confining the Joule heating generated during the switching process. image