Nanoscale Filament Evolution and Local Resistive Switching in Substoichiometric Yttrium Oxide Thin Films

Published: September 28, 2026

Our new study reveals how nanoscale conductive filaments form and evolve in Y2O3-x, a promising material for analog ReRAM. Using in situ conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM), we show that oxygen vacancy concentration and dynamics correlating to operation voltages and filament shapes. By tracking multiple switching cycles, we find that initially formed larger filaments persist during subsequent operation. We further identify the minimum lateral spacing to prevent electrical crosstalk and minimum grain-size-dependent device area for dense ReRAM. These findings provide new insights and physical guidelines for scaling memristors toward ultra-dense crossbar arrays.

Journal: Nano Letters. 2026
Authors: Yen-Po Liu, Erkai Wang, Philipp Schreyer, Yu Duan, Luisa Bayer, Yingxin Li, Taewook Kim, Alexey Arzumanov, Stefan Wiefels, Eszter Piros, Lambert Alff, Regina Dittmann.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c04262

Contact

Yen-Po Liu

Postdoctoral researcher

• Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI)
• Electronic Materials (PGI-7)

Building 04.6 /
Room 52

+49 2461/61-4389

E-Mail

Prof. Dr. Regina Dittmann

Director Electronic Materials (PGI-7)

• Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI)
• Electronic Materials (PGI-7)

Building 04.6 /
Room 49b

+49 2461/61-4760

E-Mail

Dr. Stefan Wiefels

Group Leader

• Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI)
• Electronic Materials (PGI-7)

Building 04.6 /
Room 21a

+49 2461/61-5881

E-Mail