Artificial Synapses Based on Atomic/Molecular Layer Deposited Bilayer-Structured Memristive Thin Films

This chapter deals with several kinds of ultrathin bilayer-structured memristors, such as Pt/Al2O3/HfO2/TiN, Pt/HfO2/HfOx/TiN, Pt/TiO2/Ti-based maleic acid (Ti-MA)/TaN, among which the asymmetric memristive functional layers were designed and prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) or molecular layer deposition (MLD) technique. These bilayer memristors exhibit a typical bipolar resistive switching characteristic, in accord with the space charge limited current model. Some important biologic synaptic functions have been achieved, including nonlinear transmission characteristics, spike-timing-dependent plasticity, short−/long-term plasticity, paired-pulse facilitation, and conditioned reflex. The mechanism of bilayer memristive device has been proposed based on oxygen vacancies migration/diffusion model. Above all the ultrathin bilayer memristors fabricated by low temperature ALD/MLD are one competitive candidate for neuromorphic simulation and flexible electronic applications.