Stabilization of Ni conductive filaments using NH3 plasma treatment for electrochemical metallization memory

Abstract

In this study, NH₃ plasma treatment was utilized to enhance the resistive switching (RS) properties. Au/Ni/TaO_x/NiSi and Au/Ni/NH₃ plasma-treated TaO_x/NiSi resistance RAM (RRAM) devices were fabricated and the resistive switching (RS) properties of these devices were subsequently investigated. Both RRAM devices exhibited conventional electrochemical metallization memory (ECM) behaviors. However, the NH₃ plasma-treated samples exhibited improved resistance distribution compared with that of non-treated samples due to the remaining Ni conductive filaments (CF), even following a RESET process. Additionally, superior retention properties longer than 10⁴ s were observed due to the formation of stable Ni CFs. The formation of a defect-minimized TaON layer, observed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), could be the source of stability for the Ni CFs, resulting in improved device behavior for the NH₃ plasma-treated samples.