Formation and instability of silver nanofilament in Ag-based programmable metallization cells.

Hsiung, Chang-Po; Liao, Hsin-Wei; Gan, Jon-Yiew; Wu, Tai-Bo; Hwang, Jenn-Chang; Chen, Frederick; Tsai, Ming-Jinn · ACS Nano · 2010

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

In this paper, we report on the formation and rupture of Ag nanofilament on planar Ag/TiO2/Pt cells using visual observation. During the forming process, the filament tends to stay very thin. Specifically, it is so thin that it breaks up into a chain of nanospheres (according to Rayleigh instability) right after the formation has been completed. Similar mechanical breakup may also impact vertically stacked cells, causing reliability concerns.