Thermal Conductivity of Amorphous NbOx Thin Films and Its Effect on Volatile Memristive Switching

Sanjoy Kumar Nandi*, Sujan Kumar Das, Yubo Cui, Assaad El Helou, Shimul Kanti Nath, Thomas Ratcliff, Peter Raad, Robert G. Elliman

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Metal−oxide−metal (MOM) devices based on niobium oxide exhibit threshold switching (or current-controlled negative differential resistance) due to thermally induced conductivity changes produced by Joule heating. A detailed understanding of the device characteristics therefore relies on an understanding of the thermal properties of the niobium oxide film and the MOM device structure. In this study, we use time-domain thermoreflectance to determine the thermal conductivity of amorphous NbOx films as a function of film composition and temperature. The thermal conductivity is shown to vary between 0.86 and 1.25 W·m−1· K−1 over the composition (x = 1.9 to 2.5) and temperature (293 to 453 K) ranges examined, and to increase with temperature for all compositions. The impact of these thermal conductivity variations on the quasistatic current−voltage (I−V) characteristics and oscillator dynamics of MOM devices is then investigated using a lumped-element circuit model. Understanding such effects is essential for engineering functional devices for nonvolatile memory and brain-inspired computing applications.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)21270-21277
    Number of pages8
    JournalACS applied materials & interfaces
    Volume14
    Issue number18
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Thermal Conductivity of Amorphous NbOx Thin Films and Its Effect on Volatile Memristive Switching'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this