A group of scientists from the Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology of the AGH University of Kraków, led by prof. dr. hab. Konrad Szaciłowski, with the help of specialists from the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Center, published the results of research on the unusual switching mechanism of memristors based on nickel complexes with dibenzotetraase[14]annulenes. The work was published in the journal Advanced Electronic Materials published by Wiley.

The 21st century is undoubtedly marked by a revolution in the computerisation of humankind. The growing demand for computing computer power and Internet traffic results in an increasing electricity demand, which is also related to increasing carbon dioxide emissions by humans. However, some impassable limitations affect the further development of this technology, namely the heat wall and the memory wall. The heat wall is caused by transistor downscaling, which increases power density but leads to excessive heat production that cannot be efficiently dissipated from the chip. The memory wall is associated with long latency and high power consumption when transferring data between the memory and the CPU.

A memristor, or memory resistor, is the fourth basic passive element of electronic circuits. Memristors are two-terminal devices that are characterized by a non-linear current-voltage response, which allows information to be stored in the form of their internal physical state. In the discussed work, the family of Ni(II) complexes with dibenzotetraase[14]annulenes was investigated for their use as the active phase in memristors (Figure 1). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements carried out at the ASTRA beamline (Figure 2a) confirmed the purity of the obtained nickel compound and also provided information about its electronic structure. A fluorescence detector was also used to monitor in situ the redox reaction and possible changes in the structure of the active phase for a working memristor connected to an external electric potential.

Figure 1. Schematics of the structure and operation of the tested memristor.

Figure 2. Ni K-edge XAS spectra for the studied Ni(II) complex measured in transmission. b) Scheme of device connection and its photo before in situ experiment. c) Ni K-edge spectra measured in situ at several potentials applied recorded in fluorescence.

Author: dr Andrzej Sławek
 

Link to the publication: Andrzej Sławek, Lulu Alluhaibi, Ewelina Kowalewska, Gisya Abdi, Tomasz Mazur, Agnieszka Podborska, Krzysztof Mech, Marianna Marciszko-Wiąckowska, Alexey Maximenko, Konrad Szaciłowski, Memristors Based on Ni(II)-tetraaza[14]annulene Complexes: Toward an Unconventional Resistive Switching Mechanism, Advanced Electronic Materials 2024, 2300818, doi: 10.1002/aelm.202300818