Publications

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In this paper, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of radiation effects in anion-based memristive devices. We will specifically look at the impact of high dose rate ionizing radiation, total ionizing dose (TID), and heavy ions on the electrical characteristics of tantalum oxide (TaOx), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and hafnium oxide (HfOx) memristors. The primary emphasis, however, will be placed on TaOx memristors. While there are several other anion-based memristive devices being fabricated by the semiconductor community for possible use in valence change memories, most of the present radiation work has focused on one of these types of devices. There have also been numerous studies on radiation effects in cation-based chalcogenides such as germanium sulfides and selenides. However, that will not be discussed in this paper.

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First-principles density-functional theory calculations are used to study the atomistic structure, structural energetics, and electron density near the O monovacancy (VOn; n = 0,1+,2+) in both bulk, amorphous tantalum pentoxide (a-Ta2O5), and also at vacuum and metallic Ta interfaces. We calculate multivariate vacancy formation energies to evaluate stability as a function of oxidation state, distance from interface plane, and Fermi energy. VOn of all oxidation states preferentially segregates at both Ta and vacuum interfaces, where the metallic interface exhibits global formation energy minima. In a-Ta2O5, VO0 is characterized by structural contraction and electron density localization, while VO2+ promotes structural expansion and is depleted of electron density. In contrast, interfacial VO0 and VO2+ show nearly indistinguishable ionic and electronic signatures indicative of a reduced VO center. Interfacial VO2+ extracts electron density from metallic Ta, indicating that VO2+ is spontaneously reduced at the expense of the metal. This oxidation/reduction behavior suggests careful selection and processing of both oxide layer and metal electrodes for engineering memristor device operation.

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This paper investigates the effects of high dose rate ionizing radiation and total ionizing dose (TID) on tantalum oxide (TaOx) memristors. Transient data were obtained during the pulsed exposures for dose rates ranging from approximately 5.0 × 107rad(Si)/s to 4.7 × 108rad(Si)/s and for pulse widths ranging from 50 ns to 50 μs. The cumulative dose in these tests did not appear to impact the observed dose rate response. Static dose rate upset tests were also performed at a dose rate of ∼3.0 × 108rad(Si)/s. This is the first dose rate study on any type of memristive memory technology. In addition to assessing the tolerance of TaOx memristors to high dose rate ionizing radiation, we also evaluated their susceptibility to TID. The data indicate that it is possible for the devices to switch from a high resistance off-state to a low resistance on-state in both dose rate and TID environments. The observed radiation-induced switching is dependent on the irradiation conditions and bias configuration. Furthermore, the dose rate or ionizing dose level at which a device switches resistance states varies from device to device; the enhanced susceptibility observed in some devices is still under investigation. Numerical simulations are used to qualitatively capture the observed transient radiation response and provide insight into the physics of the induced current/voltages.

The locations of conductive regions in TaOx memristors are spatially mapped using a microbeam and Nanoimplanter by rastering an ion beam across each device while monitoring its resistance. Microbeam irradiation with 800 keV Si ions revealed multiple sensitive regions along the edges of the bottom electrode. The rest of the active device area was found to be insensitive to the ion beam. Nanoimplanter irradiation with 200 keV Si ions demonstrated the ability to more accurately map the size of a sensitive area with a beam spot size of 40 nm by 40 nm. Isolated single spot sensitive regions and a larger sensitive region that extends approximately 300 nm were observed.

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