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The mechanism for resistive switching in aluminum oxide (AlOx) based electrochemical metallization memory cells is presented. Copper/AlOx/tungsten (Cu/AlOx/W) cells show reproducible resistive switching with an ON/OFF ratio of about 5 × 102 at a reading voltage of 0.1 V and reliable retention characteristics. Resistive switching occurs due to the formation and rupture of a Cu filament between the active electrode (Cu) and the counter electrode (W). The conduction of the devices was explained through back-to-back Schottky contacts in the OFF state, while it exhibits ohmic behavior in the ON state. Thermionic emission model was used to calculate the barrier heights of the Schottky contacts. The rupture of the Cu filament proved to occur at the weakest point of the filament inside the AlOx. Using Ohms Law, the slope of the linear I-V characteristics in the ON state was used to extract the Cu filament resistance and its diameter was estimated to be between 6 and 23 nm.
Sleiman et al. (Sun,) studied this question.