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In Situ TEM Imaging of Defect Dynamics under Electrical Bias in Resistive Switching Rutile-TiO2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2014

Ranga J. Kamaladasa ,
Abhishek A. Sharma ,
Yu-Ting Lai ,
Wenhao Chen ,
Paul A. Salvador ,
James A. Bain ,
Marek Skowronski  and
Yoosuf N. Picard
Ranga J. Kamaladasa
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Abhishek A. Sharma
Affiliation:
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Yu-Ting Lai
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Wenhao Chen
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Paul A. Salvador
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
James A. Bain
Affiliation:
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Marek Skowronski
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Yoosuf N. Picard*
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
*
*Corresponding author. ypicard@cmu.edu
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Abstract

In this study, in situ electrical biasing was combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in order to study the formation and evolution of Wadsley defects and Magnéli phases during electrical biasing and resistive switching in titanium dioxide (TiO2). Resistive switching devices were fabricated from single-crystal rutile TiO2 substrates through focused ion beam milling and lift-out techniques. Defect evolution and phase transformations in rutile TiO2 were monitored by diffraction contrast imaging inside the TEM during electrical biasing. Reversible bipolar resistive switching behavior was observed in these single-crystal TiO2 devices. Biased induced reduction reactions created increased oxygen vacancy concentrations to such an extent that shear faults (Wadsley defects) and oxygen-deficient phases (Magnéli phases) formed over large volumes within the TiO2 TEM specimen. Nevertheless, the observed reversible formation/dissociation of Wadsley defects does not appear to correlate to resistive switching phenomena at these length scales. These defect zones were found to reversibly reconfigure in a manner consistent with charged oxygen vacancy migration responding to the applied bias polarity.

Keywords

TiO2resistive switchingin situTEMWadsley defects
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 140 - 153
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2014 

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