Effect of crystallinity on the resistive switching behavior of HfAlO_x films

In this work, we investigated the effect of the Al₂O₃ cyclic ratio and the annealing temperature on the crystallinity and the resistive switching behavior of HfO₂ and HfAlO_x cells. The microstructures of the HfO₂ and the HfAlO_x films were measured by using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy in order to observe the dependencies of the electro-forming and resistive switching behaviors on the crystallinity. The formation of grain boundaries in connection with a microstructural change from an amorphous to a poly-crystalline phase is expected to be responsible for the leakage current and for the formation of conductive path formation.