Transport and Memory Behavior of Vanadium Pentoxide Nanoflakes

Vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) has interesting physical phenomena such as metal-insulator transitions, charge-ordering transitions and superconductivity. Recently, various phases of hydrated vanadium oxide bronzes (δ and σ phases of V₂O₅ with a metal) have been studied for their potential use in emerging memory applications. These compounds have layered structures allowing them to be exfoliated like transition metal chalcogenides and graphene, giving rise to a new class of 2D semiconductors down to the monolayer limit. The unique source of their memory properties, the migration of protons in the interlayer channels, allows for new physics to be explored. We demonstrate δ and σ phase V₂O₅ structures with nickel showing a pronounced hysteresis in their current-voltage characteristics at room temperature - at a singular voltage two different conductive states can be accessed. We modulate the shape and size of the hysteresis with factors such as temperature, sweep rate and the magnitude of write/erase voltage. The effects of these parameters and the contribution of electrostatic/electrochemical effects will be presented. In addition, an analysis of the device performance over many cycles and hours will demonstrate high endurance and retention for memory technologies.