A Physics-Based Compact Model of Metal-Oxide-Based RRAM DC and AC Operations

A physics-based compact model of metal-oxide-based resistive-switching random access memory (RRAM) cell under dc and ac operation modes is presented. In this model, the conductive filament evolution corresponding to the resistive switching process is modeled by considering the transport behaviors of oxygen vacancies and oxygen ions together with the temperature effect. Both the metallic-like and electron hopping conduction transports are considered to model the conduction of RRAM. The model can reproduce both the typical I-V characteristics of RRAM in high-/low-resistance state (LRS) and the nonlinear characteristics in LRS. Moreover, to accurately model ac operation mode, the effects of parasitic capacitance and resistance are included in our model. The developed compact model is verified and calibrated by measured data in different HfO_x-based RRAM devices under dc and ac operation modes. The excellent agreement between the model predictions and experimental results shows a promising prospect of the future implementation of this compact model in large-scale circuit simulation to optimize the design of RRAM.