MAGNETIC EFFECTS ON RESISTIVE SWITCHING IN NANOWIRE NETWORKS
Abstract
ABSTRACT Magnetic Effects on Resistive Switching in Nanowire Networks Patrick Vora Assistant Professor George Mason University School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational Sciences 4400 University Drive, MSN 3F3 Fairfax, VA 22030 Nanostructured materials have the potential to advance current electronics technology by improving performance and introducing new capabilities. Random nanowire networks (NWNs) are emerging as an important system in these efforts due to their insensitivity to nanowire property variations and low fabrication costs. Ni/NiO core/shell NWNs are particularly attractive as they exhibit resistive switching, a behavior that is fundamental for resistive random access memory technology. The switching mechanism relies on the electroformation of Ni filaments in the insulating NiO shell that connect adjacent nanowires and form a conducting path through the network. This low resistance state can be disrupted by breaking the filaments through Joule heating, thereby returning the network to a high resistance state. While resistive switching is well documented in Ni/NiO NWNs, attempts to investigate the role of magnetism are largely absent. This is surprising considering the magnetic nature of Ni (ferromagnetic) and NiO (antiferromagnetic). For instance, when in the high resistance state the NiO coating causes each wire-wire interface to act as a magnetic tunnel junction. Magnetic tunnel junctions generally exhibit a strong magnetoresistance that could be even more important in a network architecture. Our collaboration aims to assess the importance of magnetic interactions in Ni/NiO NWNs. Professor Patrick Vora (George Mason University) has partnered with Dr. Laura Ruppalt (Naval Research Laboratory) to construct a magnetotransport at the Naval Research Laboratory. They will use this instrument to characterize the response of Ni/NiO NWNs fabricated by Dr. Jessamyn Fairfield (Trinity College Dublin). Magnetotransport measurements will be performed in the low and high resistance states, and also as a function of temperature. Network densities and geometries will be varied, and single nanowire-nanowire junctions will also be studied. These measurements will be correlated with structural and spectroscopic measurements. We believe that this unexamined area of research holds great promise for enhancing the resistive switching process and improving the communityÕs understanding of nanoscale magnetism. Perhaps most exciting, our work may provide a method to encode both magnetic and electronic states in Ni/NiO NWNs, thus doubling the information storage density in the network and perhaps also enabling domain wall logic operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512357
Entities
People
- Patrick M Vora
Organizations
- George Mason University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy