Hybrid Filamentary Switching in Fe2O3—Incorporated TiO2 Memristors for Memory and Neuromorphic Computing Application
Abstract
Memristive devices have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing systems owing to their simple device architecture, low power consumption, and capability for analog conductance modulation. In this work, Fe2O3-incorporated TiO2 thin films were employed as the active switching layer to investigate their resistive switching and artificial synaptic characteristics. The fabricated Ag/TiO2 + Fe2O3/FTO device exhibits stable switching performance with a low operating voltage of approximately ±0.6 V, a large ON/OFF ratio of ~103, retention of nearly 104 s, and endurance over 5000 pulse cycles, representing a significant improvement compared with pristine TiO2 devices. Electrical transport analysis demonstrates Schottky emission-dominated conduction in the high-resistance state and Ohmic conduction in the low-resistance state. Furthermore, analog switching behavior was achieved by operating the device under a higher compliance current, demonstrating gradual conductance modulation and synaptic weight update characteristics, indicating the potential of the device for neuromorphic applications. These results demonstrate that Fe2O3 incorporation provides an effective approach for simultaneously enhancing memory performance and synaptic functionality in TiO2-based memristors, highlighting their potential for future memory and neuromorphic computing applications.