Improved resistive switching performance and in-depth mechanism analysis in Mn-doped SrTiO₃-based RRAM

Since memristors have shown great application prospects in non-volatile memory, neural synapse, brain-like chips, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computers, the research of memristors has received extensive attention. In this work, the resistive switching (RS) device with Ag/SrTiO₃ (STO)/Ti structure was fabricated, and it can significantly improve the RS performance of device by doping Mn ions into STO to replace part of Ti ions. That is to say, the Ag/Mn-doped SrTiO₃ (SMTO)/Ti device exhibits larger resistance window and better retention at room temperature. Finally, through in-depth mechanistic analysis, a physical model of the conducting filament and Schottky emission was established to understand the charge transport mechanism and RS behavior of the device. In particular, it provides favorable factors for the migration of ions and electrons through the Mn doping because the substitution of Mn for Ti ions reduces the volume of the STO crystal while distorting its crystal shape since the ionic radius of Mn is smaller than that of Ti. This work provides an important way to improve the RS properties of ABO₃-type perovskite-based resistive random access memory (RRAM), and helps to explore the cutting-edge applications of high-performance RS devices in information processing and AI.