Electrical properties of Ag/In2O3/M (M = LaNiO3, Pt) devices for RRAM applications

Resistance switching properties of nanostructured In2O3 films grown on Pt and LaNiO3 (LNO) bottom electrodes have been investigated. High quality In2O3/LNO/SiO2 and In2O3/Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si heterostructures were grown by pulsed laser deposition. High purity Ag was thermally evaporated on In2O3 active layer to form top electrode. The Ag/In2O3/M (M = LNO, Pt) structure was characterized by grazing incidence XRD, AFM and cross sectional SEM. Pollycrystalline growth of oxides LNO and In2O3 was confirmed by GIXRD, where as AFM show nanostructured growth with smooth surface morphology. Two terminal I-V characteristics showed reproducible hysteresis suggesting two distinct resistance states in the film. Typical resistance switching ratio (R-on/R-off) of the order of 113 % and 72% have been estimated for In2O3 device grown on LNO and Pt substrates, respectively. The observed resistance switching characteristics offers lot of promise for new class of binary oxide materials with oxide (LNO) as bottom electrode leading to better suitability for nanoelectronics RRAM devices.