arXiv subjects

S. H. Chang

Publications and source records attributed to S. H. Chang.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Engineering One-Dimensional Quantum Stripes from Superlattices of Two-Dimensional Layered Materials

One-dimensional (1D) quantum systems, which are predicted to exhibit novel states of matter in theory, have been elusive in experiment. Here we report a superlattice method of creating artificial 1D quantum stripes, which offers dimensional tunability from two- to one-dimensions. As a model system, we have fabricated 1D iridium (Ir) stripes using a-axis oriented superlattices of a relativistic Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 and a wide bandgap insulator LaSrGaO4, both of which are crystals with layered structure. In addition to the successful formation of 1D Ir-stripe structure, we have observed 1D quantum-confined electronic states from optical spectroscopy and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Since this 1D superlattice approach can be applied to a wide range of layered materials, it opens a new era of 1D science.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Step bunching-induced vertical lattice mismatch and crystallographic tilt in vicinal BiFeO3(001) films

Epitaxial (001) BiFeO3 thin films grown on vicinal SrTiO3 substrates are under large anisotropic stress from the substrates. The variations of the crystallographic tilt angle and the c lattice constant, caused by the lattice mismatch, along the film thickness were analyzed quantitatively using the X-ray diffraction technique. By generalizing the Nagai model, we estimated how step bunching resulted in the vertical lattice mismatch between adjacent BiFeO3 layers, which induced the strain relaxation and crystallographic tilt. The step bunching was confirmed by the increased terrace width on the BiFeO3 surface.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Stabilizing the forming process in unipolar resistance switching using an improved compliance current limiter

The high reset current IR in unipolar resistance switching now poses major obstacles to practical applications in memory devices. In particular, the first IR-value after the forming process is so high that the capacitors sometimes do not exhibit reliable unipolar resistance switching. We found that the compliance current Icomp is a critical parameter for reducing IR-values. We therefore introduced an improved, simple, easy to use Icomp-limiter that stabilizes the forming process by drastically decreasing current overflow, in order to precisely control the Icomp- and subsequent IR-values.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Studying the Underlying Event in Drell-Yan and High Transverse Momentum Jet Production at the Tevatron

We study the underlying event in proton-antiproton collisions by examining the behavior of charged particles (transverse momentum pT > 0.5 GeV/c, pseudorapidity |η| < 1) produced in association with large transverse momentum jets (~2.2 fb-1) or with Drell-Yan lepton-pairs (~2.7 fb-1) in the Z-boson mass region (70 < M(pair) < 110 GeV/c2) as measured by CDF at 1.96 TeV center-of-mass energy. We use the direction of the lepton-pair (in Drell-Yan production) or the leading jet (in high-pT jet production) in each event to define three regions of η-ϕspace; toward, away, and transverse, where ϕis the azimuthal scattering angle. For Drell-Yan production (excluding the leptons) both the toward and transverse regions are very sensitive to the underlying event. In high-pT jet production the transverse region is very sensitive to the underlying event and is separated into a MAX and MIN transverse region, which helps separate the hard component (initial and final-state radiation) from the beam-beam remnant and multiple parton interaction components of the scattering. The data are corrected to the particle level to remove detector effects and are then compared with several QCD Monte-Carlo models. The goal of this analysis is to provide data that can be used to test and improve the QCD Monte-Carlo models of the underlying event that are used to simulate hadron-hadron collisions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2010

Reduction of high reset currents in unipolar resistance switching Pt/SrTiOx/Pt capacitors using acceptor doping

The high reset current, IR, in unipolar resistance switching is an important issue which should be resolved for practical applications in nonvolatile memories. We showed that,during the forming and set processes, the compliance current, Icomp, can work as a crucial parameter to reduce IR. Doping with Co or Mn can significantly reduce the leakage current in capacitors made using SrTiOx film, opening a larger operation window for Icomp. By decreasing Icomp with acceptor doping, we could reduce IR in SrTiOx films by a factor of approximately 20. Our work suggests that the decrease of Icomp by carrier doping could be a viable alternative for reducing IR in unipolar resistance switching.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Large 1/f noise of unipolar resistance switching and its percolating nature

We investigated the 1/f noise of Pt/NiO/Pt capacitors that show unipolar resistance switching. When they were switched from the low to high resistance states, the power spectral density of the voltage fluctuation was increased by approximately five orders of magnitude. At 100 K, the relative resistance fluctuation, SR/R2, in the low resistance state displayed a power law dependence on the resistance R with exponent w = 1.6. This behavior can be explained by percolation theory; however, at higher temperatures or near the switching voltage, SR/R2 becomes enhanced further. This large 1/f noise can be therefore an important problem in the development of resistance random access memory devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Predictability of reset switching voltages in unipolar resistance switching

In unipolar resistance switching of NiO capacitors, Joule heating in the conducting channels should cause a strong nonlinearity in the low resistance state current-voltage (I-V) curves. Due to the percolating nature of the conducting channels, the reset current IR, can be scaled to the nonlinear coefficient Bo of the I-V curves. This scaling relationship can be used to predict reset voltages, independent of NiO capacitor size; it can also be applied to TiO2 and FeOy capacitors. Using this relation, we developed an error correction scheme to provide a clear window for separating reset and set voltages in memory operations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Scaling behaviors of RESET voltages and currents in unipolar resistance switching

Unipolar switching phenomena have attracted a great deal of recent attention, but the wide distributions of switching voltages still pose major obstacles for scientific advancement and practical applications. Using NiO capacitors, we investigated the distributions of the RESET voltage and current. We found that they scaled with the resistance value Ro in the low resistance state, and that the scaling exponents varied at Ro = 30 Ohm. We explain these intriguing scaling behaviors and their crossovers by analogy with percolation theory. We show that the connectivity of conducting filaments plays a crucial role in the RESET process.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Strong resistance nonlinearity and third harmonic generation in the unipolar resistance switching of NiO thin films

We investigated third harmonic generation in NiO thin films, which exhibit unipolar resistance switching behavior. We found that the low resistance states of the films were strongly nonlinear, with variations in the resistance R as large as 60%. This strong nonlinear behavior was most likely caused by Joule heating of conducting filaments inside the films. By carefully controlling the applied dc bias, we obtained several low resistance states, whose values of the third harmonic coefficient B3f were proportional to R2+w (with w = 2.07). This suggested that the resistance changes of the NiO films were accompanied by connectivity changes of the conducting filaments, as observed in classical percolating systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Percolation Model Explaining Both Unipolar Memory and Threshold Resistance Switchings in NiO Film

We observed two types of unipolar resistance switching (RS) in NiO film: memory RS at low temperature and threshold RS at high temperature. We explain these phenomena using a bond percolation model that describes the forming and rupturing of conducting filaments. Assuming Joule heating and thermal dissipation processes in the bonds, we explain how both RS types could occur and be controlled by temperature. We show that these unipolar RS are closely related and can be explained by a simple unified percolation picture.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Effects of heat dissipation on unipolar resistance switching in Pt/NiO/Pt capacitors

We fabricated Pt/NiO/Pt capacitor structures with various bottom electrode thicknesses, $t_{BE}$, and investigated their resistance switching behaviors. The capacitors with $t_{BE} \geq 50$ nm exhibited typical unipolar resistance memory switching, while those with $t_{BE} \leq 30$ nm showed threshold switching. This interesting phenomenon can be explained in terms of the temperature-dependent stability of conducting filaments. In particular, the thinner $t_{BE}$ makes dissipation of Joule heat less efficient, so the filaments will be at a higher temperature and become less stable. This study demonstrates the importance of heat dissipation in resistance random access memory.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Abnormal Resistance Switching Behaviors of NiO Thin Films: Possible Occurrence of Simultaneous Formation and Rupture of Conducting Channels

We report the detailed current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of resistance switching in NiO thin films. In unipolar resistance switching, it is commonly believed that conducting filaments will rupture when NiO changes from a low resistance to a high resistance state. However, we found that this resistance switching can sometimes show abnormal behavior during voltage- and current-driven I-V measurements. We used the random circuit breaker network model to explain how abnormal switching behaviors could occur. We found that this resistance change can occur via a series of avalanche processes, where conducting filaments could be formed as well as ruptured.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Initial growth behavior and resulting microstructural properties of heteroepitaxial ZnO thin films on sapphire (0001) substrates

We have investigated the initial growth behavior and resulting microstructural properties of heteroepitaxial ZnO thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition on sapphire (0001) substrates. High-resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that the initial growth behavior and the microstructure of the films significantly depend on the growth parameters. ZnO films grown at 700 oC with 20 mTorr O2 partial pressure initiated with a columnar growth mode and contained two kinds of domains. These domains were in-plane orientated either ZnO[112-0]//Al2O3[101-0] or ZnO[101-0]//Al2O3[101-0], and were surrounded by highly defective domain boundaries with threading dislocations. The films grown at 800 oC with 1 mTorr O2 showed 2-dimensional layered growth with only one in-plane epitaxial relationship, ZnO[112-0]//Al2O3[101-0]. Most of the defects in the layered grown films were basal plane stacking faults near the interface between ZnO and the substrate. The formation mechanism of the 30o-twisted domains with the in-plane orientation of ZnO[101-0]//Al2O3[101-0] is discussed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗