Thermally induced crystallization in NbO2 thin films.
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abstract
Niobium dioxide can exhibit negative differential resistance (NDR) in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) devices, which has recently attracted significant interest for its potential applications as a highly non-linear selector element in emerging nonvolatile memory (NVM) and as a locally-active element in neuromorphic circuits. In order to further understand the processing of this material system, we studied the effect of thermal annealing on a 15nm thick NbO2 thin film sandwiched inside a nanoscale MIM device and compared it with 180 nm thick blanket NbOx (x=2 and 2.5) films deposited on a silicon dioxide surface as references. A systematic transmission electron microscope (TEM) study revealed a similar structural transition from amorphous to a distorted rutile structure in both cases, with a transition temperature of 700C for the NbO2 inside the MIM device and a slightly higher transition temperature of 750C for the reference NbO2 film. Quantitative composition analysis from electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) showed the stoichiometry of the nominal 15nm NbO2 layer in the as-fabricated MIM device deviated from the target 1:2 ratio because of an interaction with the electrode materials, which was more prominent at elevated annealing temperature.
