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Unipolar Switching Behavior in Highly Crystalline Hexagonal Boron Nitride

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Abstract

We observed resistive switching in highly crystalline layered insulator hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) under electric field in a nano-device configuration. Two distinct resistive states were observed in the 2D material heterostack. Electrical characterization using capacitance-voltage approach further revealed the role of h-BN as the active switching element. The switching behavior could be attributed to substitutional doping of h-BN under electric field present in the active region, possibly resulting in the formation of multi-element complex in which electrical conductivity depends on the amount of substituted dopant in the boron nitride crystal lattice. Since switching is observed independent of the direction of electric field, it is unipolar in nature. The observed memristance phenomenon in layered insulator may be potentially used in the form of NVM, providing possible direction to implement information storage or reconfigurable logic applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering, State University of New York, 257 Fuller Road, Albany, NY, 12203, U.S.A.

    Nikhil Jain, Robin B. Jacobs-Gedrim & Bin Yu

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  1. Nikhil Jain
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  2. Robin B. Jacobs-Gedrim
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  3. Bin Yu
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Jain, N., Jacobs-Gedrim, R.B. & Yu, B. Unipolar Switching Behavior in Highly Crystalline Hexagonal Boron Nitride. MRS Online Proceedings Library 1658, 1–7 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/opl.2014.503

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