Multi-level forming-free HfO₂-based ReRAM for energy-efficient computing

Abstract

Memristor technology has shown great promise for energy-efficient computing [1] , though it is still facing many challenges [1 , 2]. For instance, the required additional costly electroforming to establish conductive pathways is seen as a significant drawback as it contributes to power and area overheads, and limited device endurance. In this work, we propose a novel forming-free HfO₂ -based ReRAM device with low operating voltages , multi-level capability , and less sensitivity to device-to-device (D2D) and cycle-to-cycle (C2C) variations. The device is fabricated using CMOS-compatible processes, excluding the undesirable complex steps mandatory to manufacture the state-of-the-art forming-free devices [3, 4, 5]. This is accomplished by utilizing the desirable formation energy of Pd-O bonds [6, 7], which creates conducting paths at room temperature while maintaining the analog switching ability of the devices. The proposed ReRAM device holds a great value for dense memories and energy-efficient compute architectures.