Volatile threshold-switching (TS) devices have been used as selectors and to simulate neurons in neural networks. It is necessary to find new ways to improve their performance. The randomness of conductive filament (CF) growth and the endurance of the devices are urgent issues at present. Here, we explored embedded Ag nanoislands (NIs) in HfO₂-based TS devices to limit the position of the CF and facilitate its growth at the same time. The Au/Ag(2 nm)/HfO₂(4 nm)/Ag NIs/Au volatile TS devices exhibited forming-free characteristics with improved endurance compared with the devices without Ag NIs, which was ascribed to the enhanced localization of the electrical field and increased oxygen vacancies in HfO₂ induced by the Ag NIs. A mechanism was proposed to explain the volatile TS behaviors of the devices. The Ag NIs and the thickness of the HfO₂ layers played key roles in whether the devices required forming. This work shows that the use of metal NIs is an effective and convenient way to improve the performance of TS devices.

中文翻译：

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Ag 纳米岛对 Au/Ag/HfO2/Ag 纳米岛/Au 器件挥发性阈值开关行为的影响

挥发性阈值切换 (TS) 设备已被用作选择器并模拟神经网络中的神经元。有必要寻找新的方法来提高他们的表现。导电丝（CF）生长的随机性和器件的耐久性是目前亟待解决的问题。_{在这里，我们探索了基于 HfO 2}的 TS 设备中的嵌入式 Ag 纳米岛 (NI) ，以限制 CF 的位置并同时促进其生长。Au/Ag(2 nm)/HfO ₂ (4 nm)/Ag NIs/Au 挥发性 TS 器件表现出无成形特性，与没有 Ag NIs 的器件相比具有更高的耐久性，这归因于增强的电场定位和 HfO ₂中增加的氧空位由 Ag NIs 诱导。提出了一种机制来解释设备的不稳定 TS 行为。Ag NIs和HfO ₂层的厚度在器件是否需要成型方面起着关键作用。这项工作表明，使用金属 NI 是提高 TS 设备性能的一种有效且方便的方法。