Defect Engineering in Multilayer h-BN Based RRAM by Localized Helium Ion Irradiation

Two-dimensional (2D) layered dielectrics have recently emerged as the attractive building blocks for the next-generation resistive random-access memory (RRAM). The ability to tailor conductive filament (CF) via site-selective defect engineering is essential for realizing controlled resistive switching property. We demonstrated hexagonal boron nitride ( <tex-math notation="LaTeX">h </tex-math> -BN) based RRAM with controlled defect engineering via Helium ion (He+) beam implantation, which leads to controllable CF regardless of the thickness of h-BN. The simulation results show that controllable defect paths can be achieved in h-BN by controlling the dose of helium ions. By applying different compliance currents, the He+ implanted <tex-math notation="LaTeX">h </tex-math> -BN based devices exhibit the same set voltage, demonstrating the establishment and operation of a single filament. The nanoscale conductive-filament-engineering contributes to the superb performance of h-BN RRAM devices with ultra-low sub-pW standby power and a large on/off ratio of <tex-math notation="LaTeX">10^8 </tex-math> . Non-volatile resistive switching with data retention behavior is also demonstrated. Our work provides a manufacturing strategy with defect engineering in 2D material for realizing high-performance non-volatile RRAM.