2D memory devices for enhanced cybersecurity

Schematic of nanometer-thick 2D MoS₂/polymer heterostructure memory device that enables stable resistive switching and multistate randomness.

IMRE led a collaboration team in reporting excellent stability of a resistive random‐access memories (ReRAM) device using a 2D semiconductor/polymer heterostructure. The team showed that by forming MoS2/polymer heterostructure as the active layer, the ReRAM device performance was substantially improved, as confirmed by high ON/OFF ratio and outstanding cumulative probability for both high and low resistivity states. As suggested by a Chi-square test, high resistivity state was found to be an excellent source for random number generation, thus ascertaining the possibility to use the MoS2-polymer heterostructure based ReRAMs for enhanced cybersecurity. Based on their statistical analysis, it was demonstrated that one cell could generate 10 distinct random states, in contrast to 4 binary cells required to generate the equivalent number of states.

Apart from demonstrating a high-efficient sputtering process for the controllable growth of wafer-scale transition metal disulfide layers with good quality, they also showed a low-temperature transfer process to realize 2D materials/polymer heterostructure. All these processes have the potential to be scaled up for massive production and can also be applied to arbitrary substrates, thus enabling versatile device applications such as flexible ReRAM devices or transparent electronics.

Reference:
Jianwei Chai et al., "MoS₂/Polymer Heterostructures Enabling Stable Resistive Switching and Multistate Randomness", Advanced Materials 32, 2002704 (2020)

Link to online version of paper in Advanced Materials.