Self-selective van der Waals heterostructures for large scale memory array

Linfeng Sun; Yishu Zhang; Gyeongtak Han; Geunwoo Hwang; Jinbao Jiang; Bomin Joo; Kenji Watanabe; Takashi Taniguchi; Young-Min Kim; Woo Jong Yu; Bai-Sun Kong; Rong Zhao; Heejun Yang

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11187-9

Article Self-selective van der Waals heterostructures for large scale memory array

Linfeng Sun ; Yishu Zhang ; Gyeongtak Han ; Geunwoo Hwang ; Jinbao Jiang ; Bomin Joo ; Kenji Watanabe (National Institute for Materials Science) ; Takashi Taniguchi (National Institute for Materials Science) ; Young-Min Kim ; Woo Jong Yu ; Bai-Sun Kong ; Rong Zhao ; Heejun Yang

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Linfeng Sun, Yishu Zhang, Gyeongtak Han, Geunwoo Hwang, Jinbao Jiang, Bomin Joo, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Young-Min Kim, Woo Jong Yu, Bai-Sun Kong, Rong Zhao, Heejun Yang. Self-selective van der Waals heterostructures for large scale memory array. Nature Communications. 2019, 10 (1), . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11187-9

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The massively integrated crossbar array is a highly promising architecture for next-generation three-dimensional (3D) memory and neuromorphic computing systems. However, accessing a specific memory cell with negligible influence on innumerable unselected memory cells, generally known as sneak current, remains a fundamental issue. Here, we report a self-selective memory cell based on two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and graphene in a vertical heterostructure of h-BN/graphene/h-BN. The self-selectivity, defined as the resistance ratio of selected and unselected memory cells, exceeds 10^10 over a wide voltage window in our memory cell, which originates from volatile silver (Ag) filaments and non-volatile boron vacancies inside two separated h-BN layers with impermeable graphene located between these two h-BN layers as a filament-blocking layer. Moreover, the chemically inert interface between the h-BN and graphene layers creates rapid filament-forming dynamics with a time constant of tens of nanoseconds. The record-high selectivity over a wide voltage window greatly minimizes the effects of sneak current on integrated memory operation, thereby achieving a practical readout margin for terabit-scale and energy-efficient memory integration. The self-selective van der Waals heterostructure not only provides an ideal memory compatible with flexible substrates for wearable electronic applications but also is greatly instrumental in constructing 3D stackable memory and neuromorphic systems.

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