Investigations of the effects and mechanisms of metal interconnection layer of AlN-based complementary resistive switches

Complementary resistive switches (CRSs) are currently considered to be the best solution for sneak current generated in circuits in crossbar passive arrays due to their high resistance at low voltages. However, their endurance is currently the greatest challenge (<100 times). Therefore, how to improve the devices' endurance will be an important issue. In this study, we investigate the metal interconnection layer (Ti, Cu, and Ag) of AlN-based CRSs, and we find that the devices that used Ag as the interconnection layer effectively increased endurance up to 500 times and have the lowest operating voltage. This study concludes that this is related to the diffusion of metal into the insulating layer.