Enhancing the Resistive Switching Performance in a Physically Transient Memristor by Doping MoS2 Quantum Dots

Resistive random-access memory has attracted tremendous attention and numerous investigations as a promising next-generation nonvolatile memory device to address the physical limits of flash memory. Particularly, physically transient resistive switching memory is intensively researched for its degradable and environmentally friendly characteristics. Zinc oxide (ZnO), as a low-cost biocompatible and biodegradable material, has been widely used in the dielectric layer, yet many previous studies on ZnO-based memory devices show unsatisfactory switching properties. In this work, MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) are added between the W bottom electrode and ZnO insulator by spin coating (W/MoS2 QD/ZnO/Ag) to improve its resistive switching behavior. The modified device exhibits distinctly better properties, including more-uniform switching parameters (low-and high-resistance states, Vset, Vreset), ultralow threshold voltages, and steady retention. Moreover, we transfer the device onto polyvinyl alcohol substrate, making it fully degradable, and it is completely dissolved in phosphate-buffered solution after 40 min. These results indicate that the MoS2 QD-optimized transient resistive switching memory shows great potential in green electronics, implantable biomedical devices, and secure information-storage applications.