Guided filament formation in NiO-resistive random access memory by embedding gold nanoparticles

Controllable positioning of conductive filament in resistive memory is demonstrated using gold nanoparticles (GNPs). A GNP of 15 nm diameter is encapsulated by the porter protein and delivered to the designated positions. The restricted nanoscale filament formation by the GNP was observed by conductive atomic force microscopy, and writing and erasing were achieved in a defined area on the nanometer scale. The GNPs act as defect creators and assist the formation of nanoscale filaments with a low voltage.