Simulation study of conductive filament growth dynamics in oxide-electrolyte-based ReRAM

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, including multiple physical and chemical mechanisms, were performed to investigate the microstructure evolution of a conducting metal filament in a typical oxide-electrolyte-based ReRAM. It has been revealed that the growth direction and geometry of the conductive filament are controlled by the ion migration rate in the electrolyte layer during the formation procedure. When the migration rate is relative high, the filament is shown to grow from cathode to anode. When the migration rate is low, the growth direction is expected to start from the anode. Simulated conductive filament (CF) geometries and I–V characteristics are also illustrated and analyzed. A good agreement between the simulation results and experiment data is obtained.