Carbon nanowalls: A new material for resistive switching memory devices

In this work, we report for the first time the resistive switching behavior of a new type of device made of carbon nanowalls (CNWs) deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. This new device shows a forming-free bipolar resistive switching behavior, with a low operating voltage of 2 V and long retention time (5 × 10ˆ4 s). The CNWs are synthesized by electrophoretic deposition of a solution of polyynes obtained by arc discharge. We show that the environmentally-friendly and time-saving fabrication process we developed could overcome the current complex fabrication process of carbon-based memory devices which impede their large-scale development. The obtained results demonstrate the good reproducibility of the device's production process, and that the device's electrical performances can be engineered with a control of the fabrication parameters. The study presented suggests that CNWs are promising candidates for non-volatile memory devices and in carbon-based electronics.