Breakthrough in high ON-state current based on Ag–GeTe8 selectors

Abstract

Selectors are crucial components for establishing high-density, massive, three-dimensional (3D) stackable novel non-volatile memory devices and neural networks. Although a lot of work has been done to develop new selectors, it is still considerably difficult to obtain selectors with ultra-high ON-state current to meet the actual device requirements, especially for phase change memory. In this work, by introducing a large amount of non-bonded Te anion defects, volatile large-sized Ag conductive filaments (CFs) are obtained, which will address the drawbacks of the low driving current of Ag CF-based selectors. The ON-state current of the proposed Ag–GeTe-based selector can reach a high value of 10 mA. Besides, the selector exhibits low leakage (<10⁻¹⁰ A), excellent nonlinearity (1.16 mV dev⁻¹), high endurance (over 10⁸ cycles) and excellent thermal stability. A breakthrough in the driving current based on the Ag CF selector helps to construct 3D integrated high-density devices that are immune to crosstalk problems.