Electrical Characterization, Simulation, and Fabrication of Resistive Random Access Memories - ReRAMs

• Grant number: 23/14970-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date until: September 01, 2024
• End date until: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Electrical, Magnetic and Electronic Measurements, Instrumentation
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Trevisoli Doria
• Grantee: Fernando José da Costa
• Host Institution: Centro Universitário FEI (UNIFEI). Campus de São Bernardo do Campo. São Bernardo do Campo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In order to achieve the growing demand for speed and processing power, new technologies have become the subject of study for the manufacture of devices with extremely small dimensions (sub-20 nm), either with the use of new materials such as graphene transistors, or through different conduction modes, such as tunnel effect transistors. However, for application in memories, a new device called memristor, RRAM or ReRAM, has shown extremely promising characteristics, such as a high switching capacity. ReRAM devices are made up of a metal-dielectric-metal structure, in which the dielectric is usually a metal oxide. With the application of potential between the electrodes located at the ends of the structure, a filament is formed inside the oxide that connects the two metals, changing the resistance of the device. In other words, depending on the biasing, ReRAM devices can present high or low resistance states. Some of these research studies have shown the use of these devices as multilevel memory cells, in which different resistive states are presented, in order to allow the representation of different logical levels. Aiming to improve their electrical characteristics, ReRAM cells with multiple layers of different dielectric materials have been proposed, with the aim of optimizing the formation of the conduction filament. However, their electrical, thermal and physical characteristics are not yet completely known. Therefore, this research project aims to study, through numerical simulations and experimental characterization, the behavior of multi-layer ReRAM memories, aiming to identify the main parameters that govern their operation and affect their reliability. Additionally, it is planned to use the parameters arising from experimental characterization and numerical simulations as a basis for manufacturing devices in a partnership with the Center for Semiconductor Components and Nanotechnology (CCSNano) at UNICAMP. This project is highly relevant from a scientific and technological point of view, as it is a new line of research that will be incorporated into the FEI University Center dealing with state-of-the-art electronic devices, whose electrical characteristics have attracted interest from cutting-edge industries in the area of technology.