Nonvolatile ternary resistive switching memory devices based on the polymer composites containing zinc oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Nonvolatile ternary memory devices were fabricated from the composites polymer blends containing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. When applying a negative bias on the top electrode, the fabricated devices with a simple sandwich structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/composite polymer/aluminum (Al) exhibited three distinct resistance states, which could be labeled as “OFF”, “ON1” and “ON2” for ternary data storage application. The ITO/polystyrene (PS) + ZnO/Al devices can endure 3 × 10⁴ read-cycles and exhibit a retention time of 10⁴ s. The resistance-temperature dependence at different resistance states was investigated to confirm the temperature-dependent properties. The resistance of the “OFF” and “ON1” state reveals negative temperature dependence, manifesting a typical semiconductor characteristic. The resistance of the “ON2” state exhibits positive temperature dependence, showing metallic properties.