Resistive switching memory effects in chalcogenide semiconductor ZnGa₂Se₄ thin films

ABSTRACT

ZnGa₂Se₄ thin films have been deposited on pyrographite substrate using flash evaporation technique. Platinum electrodes were used to establish electrical contacts. The electrical characteristics of Pt/ZnGa₂Se₄/Pyrographite/Pt device studied under sweep and pulse voltage mode. The device shows good memory window (LRS/HRS ≈ 10⁴). The scanning electron micrographs (SEM) are used to illustrate the formation of local conducting paths at grain boundaries (GBs) under applied electric field. Remarkable resistive switching results were observed, such as unipolar resistive behaviour, a high switching ratio (≈10⁴), a long retention time (10² s) and high endurance at ambient conditions. Our experimental findings indicate that the kinetics of filament formation is highly dependent on the microstructure of ZnGa₂Se₄ thin film. The implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• ZnGa₂Se₄
• Grain boundaries
• Scanning electron microscopy
• Resistive switching
• Large memory window

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Vishal Dhamecha http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0234-5331

Dhananjay Dhruv http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3647-6161