Compliance current and temperature effects on non-volatile memory switching and volatile switching dynamics in a Cu/SiO_x/p⁺⁺-Si device

We observe how temperature and compliance currents (CCs) affect the coexistence of nonvolatile resistive memory switching (NVMS) and volatile threshold switching (VTS) in a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible Cu/SiO_x/p⁺⁺-Si device. NVMS and VTS behaviors are investigated at different temperatures (300 K, 360 K, and 420 K) and different CCs (100 nA-1 mA). In CCs smaller than 1 mA, NVMS and VTS coexist, and as the CC decreases, the frequency of occurrence of VTS tends to increase. The frequency of VTS events increases at higher temperatures. We demonstrate the transient characteristics of the device using a pulse transient for SET, RESET, and volatile switching. These results could be used to artificially mimic the long-term and short-term plasticity of biological synapses using the phenomena of NVMS and VTS.