Molecular dynamics simulations of oxide memory resistors (memristors)

TL;DR

This study uses molecular dynamics simulations to explore the behavior of oxide memristors, revealing how vacancy interactions influence device properties and phenomena like polarity inversion.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation approach to understand vacancy dynamics and their impact on memristor behavior, highlighting the role of competing interactions.

Findings

Vacancy interactions cause density fluctuations and short-range order.

Simulations reproduce memristor polarity inversion phenomena.

Insights into the microscopic mechanisms of oxide memristors.

Abstract

Reversible bipolar nano-switches that can be set and read electronically in a solid-state two-terminal device are very promising for applications. We have performed molecular-dynamics simulations that mimic systems with oxygen vacancies interacting via realistic potentials and driven by an external bias voltage. The competing short- and long-range interactions among charged mobile vacancies lead to density fluctuations and short-range ordering, while illustrating some aspects of observed experimental behavior, such as memristor polarity inversion.