Forming-free performance of a-SiN :H-based resistive switching memory obtained by oxygen plasma treatment.

An a-SiN -based resistive random access memory (RRAM) device with a forming-free characteristic has significant potentials for the industrialization of the next-generation memories. We demonstrate that a forming-free a-SiN O RRAM device can be achieved by an oxygen plasma treatment of ultra-thin a-SiN :H films. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy reveals that Si dangling bonds with a high density (10 cm) are distributed in the initial state, which exist in the forms of SiN≡Si·, SiO≡Si·, O≡Si·, and N≡Si·.