Highly Uniform Resistive Switching Properties of Solution-Processed Silver-Embedded Gelatin Thin Film

The silver-embedded gelatin (AgG) thin film produced by the solution method of metal salts dissolved in gelatin is presented. Its simple fabrication method ensures the uniform distribution of Ag dots. Memory devices based on AgG exhibit good device performance, such as the ON/OFF ratio in excess of 10⁵ and the coefficient of variation in less of 50%. To further investigate the position of filament formation and the role of each element, current sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM) analysis as well as elemental line profiles across the two different conditions in the LRS and HRS are analyzed. The conductive and nonconductive regions in the current map of the CSAFM image show that the conductive filaments occur in the AgG layer around Ag dots. The migration of oxygen ions and the redox reaction of carbon are demonstrated to be the driving mechanism for the resistive switching of AgG memory devices. The results show that dissolving metal salts in gelatin is an effective way to achieve high-performance organic–electronic applications.