Threshold switches, which typically exhibit an abrupt increase in current at an onset voltage, have been used as selector devices to suppress leakage current in crosspoint arrays of two-terminal resistive switching memory devices. One of the most important metrics for selector devices is the leakage or low-voltage current, which limits the maximum achievable size of the crosspoint memory array. Here, we show that for self-heating-triggered threshold switches, there is an intrinsic lower limit to the leakage current resulting from the need to avoid an electric field-induced breakdown of the active material. We provide a quantitative theoretical estimate of this limit for NbOx threshold switches, one of the most widely studied selectors, and provide a plausible explanation for the experimentally observed leakage currents in NbOx. Our results provide some guidelines for achieving minimum leakage currents in threshold switches.
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Intrinsic limits of leakage current in self-heating-triggered threshold switches
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6 May 2019
Research Article|
May 06 2019
Intrinsic limits of leakage current in self-heating-triggered threshold switches
Ziwen Wang
;
Ziwen Wang
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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Suhas Kumar
;
Suhas Kumar
a)
2
Hewlett Packard Labs
, 1501 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto, California 94304, USA
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R. Stanley Williams;
R. Stanley Williams
3
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
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Yoshio Nishi
;
Yoshio Nishi
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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H.-S. Philip Wong
H.-S. Philip Wong
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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a)
Email: su1@alumni.stanford.edu
Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 183501 (2019)
Article history
Received:
January 18 2019
Accepted:
April 20 2019
Citation
Ziwen Wang, Suhas Kumar, R. Stanley Williams, Yoshio Nishi, H.-S. Philip Wong; Intrinsic limits of leakage current in self-heating-triggered threshold switches. Appl. Phys. Lett. 6 May 2019; 114 (18): 183501. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5089261
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