1. Enhanced non-volatile resistive switching in suspended single-crystalline ZnO nanowire with controllable multiple states
- Author
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Wei Pang, Xuejiao Chen, Yan Chen, Rui Zhang, Daihua Zhang, Qing Zhang, Jianhua Yang, and Zhihong Feng
- Subjects
Materials science ,Scattering ,business.industry ,Mechanical Engineering ,Nanowire ,Bioengineering ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,General Chemistry ,Substrate (electronics) ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,0104 chemical sciences ,Mechanics of Materials ,Electric heating ,Ultraviolet light ,Optoelectronics ,General Materials Science ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,0210 nano-technology ,business ,Joule heating ,Current density ,Voltage - Abstract
Resistive switching nanostructures are a promising candidate for next-generation non-volatile memories. In this report, we investigate the switching behaviors of single-crystalline ZnO nanowires suspended in air. They exhibit significantly higher current density, lower switching voltage, and more pronounced multiple conductance states compared to nanowires in direct contact with substrate. We attribute the effect to enhanced Joule heating efficiency, reduced surface scattering, and more significantly, the positive feedback established between the current density and local temperature in the suspended nanowires. The proposed mechanism has been quantitatively examined by finite element simulations. We have also demonstrated an innovative approach to initiating the current-temperature mutual enhancement through illumination by ultraviolet light, which further confirmed our hypothesis and enabled even greater enhancement. Our work provides further insight into the resistive switching mechanism of single-crystalline one-dimensional nanostructures, and suggests an effective means of performance enhancement and device optimization.
- Published
- 2016