Memristor and memristive devices via nitrogen gas based sputter deposition enabling diffusion of metal into metal or metalloid nitrides and alloys: US20230301204A1

Devices and methods are provided for controlling metallic diffusion and filamentation within a metal nitride layer from a preceding metal layer, via nitrogen plasma sputter deposition of the metal layer. In some embodiments, sputtering parameters are selected to introduce nitrogen gas into the metal layer such that nitrogen outgassing from the metal layer into the metal nitride layer generates a metal concentration profile. In the embodiments the metal diffused layers are shown to exhibit memristive behaviour in vertical, diagonal or laterally configured devices. Methods are provided for additional control of the metal concentration profile via other deposition methods. Various memristor designs are provided to utilize silver filamentation in an aluminum nitride memristor platform. The basic approach can be extended to the use of other noble metals and metals in general, as well as alloys and eutectics where concentration dependent chemistry can be appropriately availed in various ways including ionic transport.