Electrical Behavior of Combinatorial Thin-Film Zr<sub>x</sub>Ta<sub>1−x</sub>O<sub>y</sub>

Combinatorial magnetron sputtering and electrical characterization were used to systematically study the impact of compositional changes in the resistive switching of transition metal oxides, specifically the Zr<sub>x</sub>Ta<sub>1−x</sub>O<sub>y</sub> system. Cur...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matthew Flynn-Hepford, Reece Emery, Steven J. Randolph, Scott T. Retterer, Gyula Eres, Bobby G. Sumpter, Anton V. Ievlev, Olga S. Ovchinnikova, Philip D. Rack
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/10/732
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Summary:Combinatorial magnetron sputtering and electrical characterization were used to systematically study the impact of compositional changes in the resistive switching of transition metal oxides, specifically the Zr<sub>x</sub>Ta<sub>1−x</sub>O<sub>y</sub> system. Current-voltage behavior across a range of temperatures provided insights into the mechanisms that contribute to differences in the electrical conductivity of the pristine Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> and ZrO<sub>2</sub>, and mixed Zr<sub>x</sub>Ta<sub>1−x</sub>O<sub>y</sub> devices. The underlying conductive mechanism was found to be a mixture of charge trapping and ionic motion, where charge trapping/emission dictated the short-term cycling behavior while ion motion contributed to changes in the conduction with increased cycling number. ToF-SIMS was used to identify the origin of the “wake-up” behavior of the devices, revealing an ionic motion contribution. This understanding of how cation concentration affects conduction in mixed valence systems helps provide a foundation for a new approach toward manipulating resistive switching in these active layer materials.
ISSN:2079-4991