Operando diagnostic detection of interfacial oxygen ‘breathing’ of resistive random access memory by bulk-sensitive hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

ABSTRACT The HfO2-based resistive random access memory (RRAM) is one of the most promising candidates for non-volatile memory applications. The detection and examination of the dynamic behavior of oxygen ions/vacancies are crucial to deeply understand the microscopic physical nature of the resistive switching (RS) behavior. By using synchrotron radiation based, non-destructive and bulk-sensitive hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES), we demonstrate an operando diagnostic detection of the oxygen ‘breathing’ behavior at the oxide/metal interface, namely, oxygen migration between HfO2 and TiN during different RS periods. The results highlight the significance of oxide/metal interfaces in RRAM, even in filament-type devices. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT IMPACT STATEMENT The oxygen ‘breathing’ behavior at the oxide/metal interface of filament-type resistive random access memory devices is operandoly detected using hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool