Integration of Redox-based Resistive Switching Memory Devices

The steadily growing market for consumer electronics and the rapid proliferation of mobile devices such as tablet computers, MP3 players and smart phones make high demands for the nonvolatile memory. Present FLASH memory technology approaches to the end due to physical scalability limits. Therefore, an alternative technology must be developed. For memory technology, not only the storage density and cost are important factors but the power consumption and the writing/reading speed must also be taken in account. Redox-based resistive memory (ReRAM) offers a potential alternative to the FLASH technology and presently is in the focus of research activities. The operating principle of the ReRAM is based on the non-volatile reversible change in resistance by electrical stimuli in a simple metal-insulator-metal(MIM) device architecture. This simple structure enables the integration of ReRAM in passive crossbar arrays, in which each crosspoint consumes only 4F$^{2}$ (F- feature size) device area. This leads to an ultra-high storage density at reduced cost. Research on the ReRAM memory elements requires a technology platform that ensures a cost-effective fabrication of the crossbar devices with nanometer feature size. In this thesis, the fabrication processes have been developed based on the nanoimprint lithography, which facilitates both the high resolution (