International audienceResistance switching is studied in Au/HfO2 (10 nm)/(Pt, TiN) devices, where HfO2 is deposited by atomic layer deposition. The study is performed using different bias modes, i.e., a sweeping, a quasistatic and a static (constant voltage stress) mode. Instabilities are reported in several circumstances (change in bias polarity, modification of the bottom electrode, and increase in temperature). The constant voltage stress mode allows extracting parameters related to the switching kinetics. This mode also reveals random fluctuations between the ON and OFF states. The dynamics of resistance switching is discussed along a filamentary model which implies oxygen vacancies diffusion. The rf properties of the ON and OFF states are also presented (impedance spectroscopy). © 2010 American Institute of Physic

This work reports on voltage nonlinearities in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors using amorphous barium titanate (a-BaTiO3) thin films. It is experimentally demonstrated that voltage nonlinearity is related to the formation of a double layer at electrodes (electrode polarization mechanism). The magnitude of nonlinearities is shown to be controlled by the nature of the metal contacts (Al, Cu, Au, and Ag), as well as by the presence of oxygen during film deposition. It is thought that oxygen vacancies are the defects responsible for the nonlinear character of high-k oxide-based MIM capacitors.

Dielectric relaxation study of amorphous TiTaO thin films in a large operating temperature range