Bipolar Analog Memristive Switching of In2O3 Using Al Nanoparticles

Aluminum nanoparticles (AlNPs) were embedded into a sol-gel synthesized In2O3 thin film by using a combination of thermal evaporation and glancing Angle Deposition technique. Presence of different sizes of aluminum nanoparticles was confirmed from field emission gun scanning electron microscopy. The high-resolution X-ray diffraction confirms the formation of Al2O3 NPs by surface oxidation of aluminum nanoparticles. Embedded Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor like device Al/In2O3/AlNPs/In2O3/p-Si was fabricated, and its memristor behavior was analyzed. The Al/In2O3/AlNPs/In2O3/p-Si device possessed high current conduction and analog resistive switching as compared to Al/In2O3/p-Si device. Significant and consistent memory window up to 150 current (I)-voltage (V) loop was obtained for Al/In2O3/AlNPs/In2O3/p-Si device between +/- 6 V applied bias. The Al/In2O3/AlNPs/In2O3/p-Si device measured high free carrier concentration, i.e., (N-d)similar to 1.93x 1020 cm(-3) calculated from capacitance (C)-Voltage (V) measurement. The memory was retained in accumulation and depletion regions as obtained from the C-V looping curves.