IMPORTANCE OF SUBSTRATE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY IN ENHANCING VO₂NEUROMORPHIC DEVICE EFFICIENCY

Replicating the functionalities of the human brain with novel materials involves not only simulating its electronic behavior, but also achieving a reasonable energy-efficiency. Hence, managing heat dissipation in bio-inspired devices is imperative when searching for suitable materials and substrates which serve as heat sinks. Materials that undergo metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) are prime candidates for making neuromorphic devices, among which vanadium dioxide (VO₂) is an archetypical compound. Resistive switching (RS) across the MIT in VO₂ thin films can be accomplished using various methods, such as temperature and electric field. Understanding the RS from a thermo-electric perspective is critical for its applications in neuromorphic computing. In this work, we report on the thermal and electrical characterizations of VO₂ micro devices deposited on various substrates with distinct thermal properties. We assess the thermal behavior of the devices by measuring the infrared emission in operando during electric filed induced RS. Our results demonstrate that the energy-efficiency and scalability of VO₂ based devices can be significantly enhanced by selecting substrates with low thermal conductivity.