Cryogenic Resistive Memory Devices Fabricated by Novel Methods

Non-volatile memory platforms with the ability to function in cryogenic conditions are of great interest in modern device physics. Prior work identified a class of doped transition-metal-oxides based resistive memories that operate at low temperature as desired, but it was confined to studying devices with this doped oxide layer deposited by spin-on deposition methods. Our work aims to replicate this instead using physical vapor deposition methods for the doped oxide, with hopes of having greater control over the material's morphology as well as demonstrating feasability of fabricating the devices using techniques more similar to those suited to large scale, industrial production. Extensive materials characterization of the doped oxide films has been carried out using the techniques of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and transmission electron microscopy, followed by transport experiments characterizing the performance of completed memory devices. Finally, information about the film morphology and switching characteristics over many samples has been correlated in hopes of further illucidating the physical mechanism(s) that underly the switching behavior.