This review article introduces resistive switching processes that are being considered for nanoelectronic nonvolatile memories. The three main classes are based on an electrochemical metallization mechanism, a valence change mechanism, and a thermochemical mechanism, respectively. The current understanding of the microscopic mechanisms is discussed and the scaling potential is outlined..

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The kinetics of the switching process in Cu–SiO2-based electrochemical metallization memory cells was investigated as a function of the switching voltage and the SiO2 film thickness. We observe an exponential dependence of the switching rate on the switching voltage and no significant thickness dependence in the range from 5to20nm SiO2. We conclude from our data that the cathodic electrodeposition represents the rate-limiting step of the switching kinetics. The voltage-time dilemma seems to be overcome by the exponential dependence of the switching rate in combination with a threshold voltage presumably originating from a nucleation overpotential.