Resistive switching in a Ni-rich nickel oxide thin film

In this work, metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure with Ni-rich NiOx film as the insulator was fabricated on silicon substrate. The Ni-rich NiOx film was deposited by RF sputtering of a NiO target. Resistive switching, i.e., a sharp change in the current conduction from a low-resistance state to a high-resistance state or vice versa has been observed on the MIM structure. The resistive switching is due to the formation/deformation of conductive filaments in the Ni-rich nickel oxide. Statistics of types of switching is conducted for the MIM structure for the state transitions. The relationship between the malfunction of the resistive switching memory based on the thin film and the occurrence of the various types of switching has been examined.