Characteristics of flexible and transparent Eu₂O₃ resistive switching memory at high bending condition

The characteristics of ITO/Eu₂O₃/ITO/PET transparent and flexible resistive switching memory are studied. The device exhibits superior characteristics such as device area-independent and forming-free resistive switching behavior with a resistance on/off ratio of 10⁴, good retention of >10⁴ s and high AC endurance of >10⁷ cycles. The conduction mechanism of the high-resistance state is the Poole–Frenkel mechanism, while that of the low-resistance state is ohmic conduction. The electrical characteristics of the flexible device have shown excellent results up to 5 mm bending radius, at which a degradation in the on/off ratio of the memory window is observed, due to the change in the dielectric layer resistance. The resistive switching characteristics can be improved during bending up to the radius of 2 mm by the incorporation of an aluminum-doped zinc oxide layer in the device as the bottom electrode, proving its application in future flexible and transparent memory devices. (paper)