Robust and High-Performance Self-Rectifying Memristors Featuring a-WO 3 /a-IGZO Heterostructures for Reliable Artificial Synaptic Applications

By integrating rectification and resistive switching functionalities, self-rectifying memristors play a pivotal role for large-scale, high-density 3D integration, which can effectively suppress sneak-path currents. However, the limited reliability and poor overall performance of mainstream metal oxide-based self-rectifying memristors hinder their widespread practical application. Herein, robust self-rectifying memristors are fabricated using an amorphous WO3/amorphous IGZO (a-WO3/a-IGZO) heterostructure, and they exhibit excellent high-performance characteristics, including a high rectification ratio (>104), low operating voltages, and outstanding operational stability. This enhanced self-rectifying switching performance is attributed to the formation of an interfacial space-charge layer, resulting from the mismatch in carrier concentration between a-WO3 and a-IGZO. Furthermore, multisynaptic functions are subsequently emulated using a-WO3/a-IGZO heterostructure memristors, whose conductance can be continuously modulated. This work presents a heterostructure strategy for constructing robust, high-performance self-rectifying memristors based on amorphous metal oxides, which effectively suppress crosstalk currents and serve as reliable artificial synapses for neuromorphic computing.