Unconventional Resistive Switching Behavior in Fibroin‐Based Memristor

• Published in: Advanced electronic materials Vol. 8; no. 1
• Main Authors: Chang, Ke, Dong, Anhua, Yu, Xinna, Liu, Binbin, Zhao, Xinhui, Wang, Renzhi, Gan, Zhikai, Jiang, Kang'an, Niu, Yiru, Dong, Xinyuan, Zheng, Diyuan, Li, Yizhen, Bao, Peng, Zhao, Zhuyikang, Wang, Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2022
• Subjects: high memory window; right‐angled‐like switching behavior; self‐assembled Ag nanoclusters; silk fibroin; transient memristors; ultralow operating voltage
• ISSN: 2199-160X; 2199-160X
• DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202100843

Transient memristor, which can be decomposed in water after completing the designed task, has shown great potentials in data security, implantable medical devices, and eco‐friendly electronics. However, the further development of transient memristors is hindered by lacking practical approaches to deal with the dilemma between stability and degradability of the device. Here, using Ag‐doped fibroin film as a switching medium, an unconventional right‐angled‐like resistive switching behavior is observed. Based on this novel resistive switching characteristic, a high‐performance transient memristor is designed and fabricated. A self‐assembled Ag nanoclusters model is proposed to interpret this unique electron‐transport property. The self‐assembled silver nanoclusters can redistribute the charge flux and lower the potential barrier, leading to novel switching characteristics. Furthermore, the device can work at ultralow operating voltages (0.03 V) over 300 cycles with an extremely high memory window of 107. The experimental findings open up a new path to design high‐performance transient memristors for a safe and reliable data storage system. Here a high‐performance transient memristor based on the silver–fibroin composite film is demonstrated. The device exhibits a unique right‐angled‐like resistive switching behavior, which is attributed to the charge traps induced by self‐assemble Ag nanocluster. Such device also shows excellent storage performance, such as ultralow operating voltage (0.03–0.35 V), large memory window (≈107), and stable cycling endurance (>300).