Field induced nucleation in nano-structures

TL;DR

This paper predicts how field induced nucleation of conductive filaments occurs in ultra-thin dielectric layers, revealing a threshold voltage phenomenon and contrasting it with thermal runaway mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis for FIN in dielectric layers below the critical nucleation length, highlighting a voltage threshold independent of thickness.

Findings

FIN can be a threshold phenomenon only above a critical voltage

Threshold switching can occur without memory in certain thickness regimes

Thermal runaway mechanisms are analytically consistent with prior numerical models

Abstract

We predict the probability of field induced nucleation (FIN) of conductive filaments across the nano-thin dielectric layers in memory and switching devices. The novelty of our analysis is that it deals with a dielectric layer of thickness below the critical nucleation length. We show how the latter constraint can make FIN a truly threshold phenomenon possible only for voltage (not the field) exceeding a certain critical value that does not depend on the dielectric thickness. Our analysis predicts the possibility of threshold switching without memory under certain thickness dependent voltages. In parallel, the thermal runaway mechanism of electronic switching is described analytically leading to results consistent with the earlier published numerical modeling. Our predictions offer the possibility of experimental verifications deciding between FIN and thermal runaway switching.