Advanced atomic force microscopy-based techniques for nanoscale characterization of switching devices for emerging neuromorphic applications

Appl Microsc. 2021 May 26;51(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s42649-021-00056-9.

Abstract

Neuromorphic systems require integrated structures with high-density memory and selector devices to avoid interference and recognition errors between neighboring memory cells. To improve the performance of a selector device, it is important to understand the characteristics of the switching process. As changes by switching cycle occur at local nanoscale areas, a high-resolution analysis method is needed to investigate this phenomenon. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to analyze the local changes because it offers nanoscale detection with high-resolution capabilities. This review introduces various types of AFM such as conductive AFM (C-AFM), electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to study switching behaviors.

Keywords: Conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM); Conductive filaments (CFs); Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM); Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM); Selector.

Publication types

  • Review