Amorphous, Highly Conductive Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 for Area-Dependent Resistive Switching AlOx Bilayer Devices

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

  • Max Buczek - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Iliyas T. Dossayev - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Clemens Wittberg - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Yen Po Liu - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Kalle Goß - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • David N. Mueller - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Zoe Moos - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Zhenhao Liu - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Karsten Bittkau - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Mohammad Hassan Sultani - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Stephan Menzel - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Susanne Hoffmann-Eifert - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Regina Dittmann - , Jülich Research Centre (Author)
  • Transregio 404: Next Generation Electronics With Active Devices in Three Dimensions

Abstract

Memristive Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (PCMO) heterostructures exhibit area-dependent resistive switching via a valence change mechanism, making them promising for neuromorphic architectures. A major challenge in PCMO-based memory is higher-dimensional lattice defects that affect oxygen-vacancy migration and concentration. This study mitigates these defects using highly conductive amorphous PCMO fabricated via a CMOS back-end-of-line-compatible process and compares it with low-conductive amorphous and polycrystalline PCMO. The resistance differences are attributed to changes in electronic mobility, based on the analysis of short- and long-range order, Mn–O hybridization, and Mn valence state. AlOx/qa-PCMO devices showed the highest ON/OFF ratio compared to low-conductive amorphous and polycrystalline PCMO, because the field-accelerated oxygen vacancy movement switches the mechanism from Poole–Frenkel emission in the LRS to trap-assisted tunneling in the HRS. The mechanism change was identified by systematically analyzing the I–V asymmetry, device band diagrams for different PCMO types, and shape changes in the I–V curve fits. The band diagrams were calculated from the measured bandgaps and work functions of the different PCMO types. Analysis of the electric field distribution in the devices showed a clear correlation between the pre-switching field strength in AlOx and the resulting ON/OFF ratio.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere00556
JournalAdvanced electronic materials
Volume12
Issue number17
Publication statusPublished - 7 Sept 2026
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Keywords

  • amorphous PrCaMnO (PCMO), area-dependent switching, band diagram, CMOS BEOL compatibility, neuromorphic computing, pulsed laser deposition (PLD), resistive switching