Resistive switching characteristics of silicon nitride-based RRAM depending on top electrode metals

In this work, resistive switching random-access memory (RRAM) devices having a structure of metal/Si₃N₄/Si with different top electrode metals were fabricated to investigate the changes in switching and conduction mechanisms depending on electrode metals. It is shown that the metal workfunction is not strongly related with either high-resistance state (HRS) and forming voltage. Top electrodes (TEs) of Al, Cu, and Ni show both bipolar and unipolar switching characteristics. The changes of resistances in these devices can be explained by the different defect arrangements in the switching layer (SL). Among the devices with different TE metals, one with Ag electrode does not show unipolar switching unlike the others. The conducting filaments of Ag-electrode device in the low-resistance state (LRS) demonstrated metallic behaviors in the temperature-controlled experiments, which supports that Ag substantially participates in the conduction as a filament source. Moreover, the difference in switching speed is identified depending on TE metals.