Enhanced Unipolar Resistive Switching Characteristics of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 Thin Films with High ON/OFF Ratio

A metal-insulator-metal structure resistive switching device based on H0.5Z0.5O₂ (HZO) thin film deposited by pulse laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated for resistive random access memory (RRAM) applications. The devices demonstrated bistable and reproducible unipolar resistive switching (RS) behaviors with an extremely high OFF/ON ratio over 5400. The retention property had no degradation at 6 × 10⁴ s. The current-voltage characteristics of the HZO samples showed a Schottky emission conduction in the high voltage region (Vreset < V < Vset), while at the low voltage region (V < Vreset), the ohmic contact and space charge limited conduction (SCLC) are suggested to be responsible for the low and high resistance states, respectively. Combined with the conductance mechanism, the RS behaviors are attributed to joule heating and redox reactions in the HZO thin film induced by the external electron injection.