Multilevel switching memory devices based on vanandium dioxide

Research Summary

Vanadium dioxide (VO₂) has been extensively studied due to its nature of exhibiting a reversible metal−insulator transition coupled with a structural phase transition, including its potential in a variety of low-power device applications, such as switching devices, memory devices, steep-slope devices, and neuromorphic computing devices. The findings from these studies could provide valuable insights into the nanoscale engineering of correlated phases in VO₂ as a crucial material for neuromorphic computing inspired by biological neuron-synapse system [Fig. 1].

We fabricated and characterized the multiple electrode-interconnected VO₂ devices with the same nanoscale channel length of approximately 600 nm through the manipulation of naturally self-organized metal−insulator domains [Fig. 2 and Fig. 3].

Expected Outcomes

Brain neurons-mimicking semiconductor devices enable the implementation of ultra-low-power high-performance computing and are expected to be widely utilized in various fields such as next-generation neuromorphic computing, autonomous driving, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) development in the future.

Related Figures

[Fig. 1] Conceptual illustration of artificial synapse-VO₂ cells inspired by biological neuron-synapse system

[Fig. 2] Optical image of artificial synapse-VO₂ cells and their corresponding current-voltage (I-V) characteristics

[Fig. 3] Switching and memory characteristics in artificial synapse-VO₂ cells