Purely electronic nanometallic ReRAM

TL;DR

This paper discusses nanometallic ReRAM, a purely electronic form of resistance memory that offers potential advantages in reliability and applications like analogue computing, by utilizing electron trapping mechanisms instead of ion migration.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of nanometallic ReRAM based on electron trapping, highlighting its advantages and potential for high-density memory and unconventional computing.

Findings

Electron trapping enables resistance switching without ion migration.

Nanometallic ReRAM can be engineered in amorphous materials like Si, oxides, and nitrides.

Potential applications include analogue computing and non-von Neumann architectures.

Abstract

Resistance switching random access memory (ReRAM), with the ability to repeatedly modulate electrical resistance, has been highlighted as a feasible high-density memory with the potential to replace negative-AND (NAND) flash memory. Such resistance modulation usually involves ion migration and filament formation, which usually lead to relatively low device reliability and yield. Resistance switching can also come from an entirely electronic origin, as in nanometallic memory, by electron trapping and detrapping. Recent research has revealed additional merits of its mechanism, which entails smart, atomic-sized floating gates that can be easily engineered in amorphous Si, oxides, and nitrides. This article addresses the basic ideas of nanometallic ReRAM, which may also be a contender for analogue computing and non-von Neumann-type computation.