Quantum Conductance and Temperature Effects in Titanium Oxide-Based Memristive Devices

A thorough investigation of quantum conductance properties and the effects of temperature on Cr/Au/TiO2/TiOx/Cr/Au memristive devices is presented. Besides fabrication and resistive switching characteristics, two different programming strategies have been explored to observe quantum conductance effects. The first strategy was based on device stimulation with slow current sweeps to observe quantum levels in the SET region, while the second aimed to achieve quantum steps during RESET using slow sweep stimulation. The effects of the two different programming strategies are compared. It is also shown that these devices can be programed to achieve stable quantum levels, as revealed by retention measurements performed after programming the device to 1 G0. Furthermore, the temperature-dependent electronic conduction mechanism of the device after being programed to different internal resistance states has been analyzed, revealing a semiconductor behavior with an increase in resistance by lowering the temperature in either a pristine state, low-resistance state, or resistance states close to the quantum conduction regime.