Resistive switching in memristor structures with multilayer dielectrics
Date
2024-07-09
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Abstract
Tänapäevane elektroonika, arvutid ja arvutisüsteemid on läbi teinud meeletu arengu. Toasuurusest arvutist on saanud käekella asendav nutiseade. Kõige suurema panuse kõnealusesse progressi on andnud teadusuuringute tulemuste kiire rakendamine. Näiteks operatiivmälu, mida kasutavad arvutiseadmed protsesside kiireks täitmiseks kui ka FLASH mälu andmekandjates põhineb elektrilaengu säilitamisel. Need tehnoloogiad ise pärinevad sisuliselt eelmise sajandi kuuekümnendatest ja seitsmekümnendatest aastatest, kuid meeletult suure mälumahu kättesaadavuse on taganud nende seadmete füüsiliste mõõtmete vähendamine, mis on põhinenud materjaliteaduse alasel teadus- ja arendustööl. Paraku näitavad viimased teadusuuringud, et infosalvestusseadmete mälumahu edasine suurendamine muutub üha keerukamaks, aeganõudvamaks ja kulukamaks. Selles valguses on teadlased üha enam pööranud tähelepanu uute mälutehnoloogiate arendamisele. Takistusmälu, mälutakisti ehk memristor on üks nendest potentsiaalsetest uudsetest mälutehnoloogiatest, mis ei põhine enam elektrilaengu säilitamisel, vaid materjali takistuse muutmisel. Erilist tähelepanu väärib asjaolu, et see nähtus leiab aset nanomaailmas, võimaldades luua veelgi väiksemate mõõtmete ja suurema mahuga elektroonilisi mälusid. Kuna memristorides toimuvad takistuslülitused leiavad aset väikesemõõtmelistes keskkondades, on nende täielik mõistmine, kontrollimine ning uurimine seni veel äärmiselt keerukas. Hoolimata sellest, et pooljuhtide tööstus on juba alustanud takistuslülitusel põhinevate mäluseadiste tootmist, vajab selle tehnoloogia suuremahuline rakendamine ja tootmine veel täiendavat teadusmahukat uurimist. Käesoleva töö raames valmistati ja uuriti tänapäeva arvutikiipides kasutatavatest materjalidest valmistatud memristorstruktuure ja nende sobivust kasutamiseks uue põlvkonna mäluseadistes. Töö tulemusena näidati, kuidas hoolikas materjalide kombineerimine võimaldab varieerida ja optimeerida memristorite erinevaid omadusi.
In the last decades electronics and computer systems have undergone tremendous development. A room-size computer has become a smart device that replaces a wristwatch. This progress has been enabled by rapid application of scientific research results. For example, the random-access memory of a computer that enables fast data exchange, as well as flash memory in data storage devices, is based on the retention of electrical charge. These technologies essentially originate from 1960-s and 1970-s, but the availability of an immensely large memory capacity has been ensured by reducing the physical dimensions of memory cells, which has been due to the research and development in materials science. Unfortunately, recent studies show that further increment of memory capacity is becoming more complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Thus, scientists have increasingly turned their attention to the development of new memory technologies. Resistive switching memory, a memristor, is one of these emerging memory technologies that relies on the changing the resistance of a material instead of retaining electrical charge. The fact that this phenomenon occurs in the nanoworld, allowing the creation of electronic memories with even smaller dimensions and greater capacity deserves particular attention. Since the resistive switching takes place in nano-dimensional environments, understanding the mechanisms, controlling, and investigations are still extremely complicated. Even though the semiconductor industry is already producing resistive switching memories, the large-scale application of this technology still requires extensive research. In the course of this work, memristor structures composed of materials used in today's computer chips were fabricated and characterized, and their suitability for use in next-generation memory devices was studied. As a result, it was shown how the careful combination of materials permits to vary and optimize different parameters of memristors.
In the last decades electronics and computer systems have undergone tremendous development. A room-size computer has become a smart device that replaces a wristwatch. This progress has been enabled by rapid application of scientific research results. For example, the random-access memory of a computer that enables fast data exchange, as well as flash memory in data storage devices, is based on the retention of electrical charge. These technologies essentially originate from 1960-s and 1970-s, but the availability of an immensely large memory capacity has been ensured by reducing the physical dimensions of memory cells, which has been due to the research and development in materials science. Unfortunately, recent studies show that further increment of memory capacity is becoming more complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Thus, scientists have increasingly turned their attention to the development of new memory technologies. Resistive switching memory, a memristor, is one of these emerging memory technologies that relies on the changing the resistance of a material instead of retaining electrical charge. The fact that this phenomenon occurs in the nanoworld, allowing the creation of electronic memories with even smaller dimensions and greater capacity deserves particular attention. Since the resistive switching takes place in nano-dimensional environments, understanding the mechanisms, controlling, and investigations are still extremely complicated. Even though the semiconductor industry is already producing resistive switching memories, the large-scale application of this technology still requires extensive research. In the course of this work, memristor structures composed of materials used in today's computer chips were fabricated and characterized, and their suitability for use in next-generation memory devices was studied. As a result, it was shown how the careful combination of materials permits to vary and optimize different parameters of memristors.
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Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone