Effect of the Layers Thickness on the Stability of TiN/Ti/HfO2/W Memristors
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This work investigates the influence of Ti and HfO2 layer thickness on the stability of resistive switching (RS) in TiN/Ti/HfO2/W memristors. Using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations with the Ginestra tool, we analyze the role of Ti as an oxygen scavenger, leading to partial oxidation into TiOx. The TiOx/HfO2 interface serves as the active switching layer. Our results demonstrate that RS stability is optimal when the Ti and HfO2 layers have similar thicknesses, ensuring a balanced availability of oxygen vacancies and ions. In contrast, extreme thickness ratios (e.g., 20 nm Ti / 5 nm HfO2 or 5 nm Ti / 20 nm HfO2) lead to poor RS stability due to excessive ion diffusion or rapid recombination. These findings highlight the critical role of layer thickness in optimizing memristor performance and reliability.