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Robust memristors based on layered two-dimensional materials

Nature Electronics volume 1, pages 130–136 (2018)Cite this article

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An Author Correction to this article was published on 05 March 2018

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Abstract

Van der Waals heterostructures are formed by stacking layers of different two-dimensional materials and offer the possibility to design new materials with atomic-level precision. By combining the valuable properties of different 2D systems, such heterostructures could potentially be used to address existing challenges in the development of electronic devices, particularly those that require vertical multi-layered structures. Here we show that robust memristors with good thermal stability, which is lacking in traditional memristors, can be created from a van der Waals heterostructure composed of graphene/MoS2–xO x /graphene. The devices exhibit excellent switching performance with an endurance of up to 107 and a high operating temperature of up to 340 °C. With the help of in situ electron microscopy, we show that the thermal stability is due to the MoS2–xO x switching layer, as well as the graphene electrodes and the atomically sharp interface between the electrodes and the switching layer. We also show that the devices have a well-defined conduction channel and a switching mechanism that is based on the migration of oxygen ions. Finally, we demonstrate that the memristor devices can be fabricated on a polyimide substrate and exhibit good endurance against over 1,000 bending cycles, illustrating their potential for flexible electronic applications.

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Fig. 1: GMG devices and cross-section images.
Fig. 2: Electrical characterizations of the GMG devices.
Fig. 3: Electrical characterizations of the GMG devices at elevated temperatures.
Fig. 4: In situ HRTEM observation of MoS2−xO x at elevated temperatures.
Fig. 5: In situ STEM observation of the conduction channel in GMG devices.
Fig. 6: Flexible GMG devices.

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  • 09 March 2018

    In the version of this Article originally published, the author Xiaoqing Pan's two affiliations with the University of California, Irvine, were mistakenly omitted. They are: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. These have now been included in the Article.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2015CB921600, 2015CB654901 and 2013CBA01603), National Natural Science Foundation of China (61625402, 61574076, 11474147 and 11374142), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20140017 and BK20150055), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures. Y.Z and J.J.Y. was supported in part by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) (Grant No. FA8750-15-2-0044) and DARPA (Contract No. D17PC00304).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Miao Wang and Songhua Cai.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

    Miao Wang, Chen Pan, Chenyu Wang, Xiaojuan Lian, Kang Xu, Tianjun Cao, Baigeng Wang, Shi-Jun Liang & Feng Miao

  2. College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

    Songhua Cai, Xiaoqing Pan & Peng Wang

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Ye Zhuo & J. Joshua Yang

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Xiaoqing Pan

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univeristy of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Xiaoqing Pan

  6. Center for the Microstructures of Quantum Materials and Research Center for Environmental Nanotechnology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

    Peng Wang

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Contributions

F.M. and M.W. conceived the project and designed the experiments. M.W., C.P., C.W., X.L. and K.X. performed the device fabrication and electrical measurements. S.C., M.W. and P.W. carried out the in situ HRTEM and cross-section STEM experiments and analyses. M.W., F.M., X.L., T.C., Z.Y. and J.J. Yang conducted the data analyses and interpretations. F.M., M.W., S.C., S.L., P.W. and J.J. Yang co-wrote the paper, and all authors contributed to the discussions and preparation of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to J. Joshua Yang, Peng Wang or Feng Miao.

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A correction to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0044-x.

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Wang, M., Cai, S., Pan, C. et al. Robust memristors based on layered two-dimensional materials. Nat Electron 1, 130–136 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0021-4

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