The atomic switch

An atomic switch is a nanoionic device that controls the diffusion of metal ions and their reduction/oxidation processes in the switching operation to form/annihilate a metal atomic bridge, which is a conductive path between two electrodes in anon-state. Since metal atoms can provide a highly conductive channel even if their size is in the nanometer scale, atomic switches may enable downscaling to smaller than the 11-nm technology node. Two-terminal atomic switches have the potential for use in memories and programmable switches. Three-terminal atomic switches, where the formation/annihilation of a metal atomic bridge between a source electrode and a drain electrode are controlled by a third (gate) electrode, work as nonvolatile transistors. Recent development of two-terminal atomic switches that use a metal oxide as the ionic conductive material, in which a metal atomic bridge is formed, has enabled the integration of atomic switches with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices. Also introduced are the novel characteristics of atomic switches, such as their small size, low power consumption, lowon -resistance, nonvolatility, and learning abilities.