High-temperature memristors enabled by interfacial engineering

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Abstract

Non-volatile memories (NVM) that operate reliably at high temperature are essential for electronics in extreme environments. Here, we reported graphene (Gra)/HfOx/tungsten (W) memristors that operated reliably up to 700 °C with an ON/OFF current ratio >103, data retention >50 hours and endurance >109 switching cycles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed significant W diffusion into the inert platinum (Pt) electrode of conventional Pt/HfOx/W memristors after high-temperature annealing, which was an effect responsible for the thermal failure of conventional devices but not observed in Gra/HfOX/W devices. First-principles calculations attributed the enhanced thermal stability to weaker W adsorption and higher surface diffusion barriers on graphene than metals like Pt. These results underscore the critical role of interfacial engineering and potential of 2D materials in enabling reliable high-temperature NVM technologies.

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