A current-driven single-atom memory

Schirm, Christian; Matt, Manuel; Pauly, Fabian; Cuevas, Juan Carlos; Nielaba, Peter; Scheer, Elke

A current-driven single-atom memory

Files

Schirm_243648.pdf(452.47 KB)

Date

2013

Project

SFB 767 - TP C10 Control of magnetic nanostructures by spin currents and thermal gradients

Collections

Physik

Publication type

Journal article

Published in

Nature Nanotechnology ; 8 (2013), 9. - pp. 645-648. - ISSN 1748-3387. - eISSN 1748-3395

Abstract

The possibility of fabricating electronic devices with functional building blocks of atomic size is a major driving force of nanotechnology. The key elements in electronic circuits are switches, usually realized by transistors, which can be configured to perform memory operations. Electronic switches have been miniaturized all the way down to the atomic scale. However, at such scales, three-terminal devices are technically challenging to implement. Here we show that a metallic atomic-scale contact can be operated as a reliable and fatigue- resistant two-terminal switch. We apply a careful electromigration protocol to toggle the conductance of an aluminium atomic contact between two well-defined values in the range of a few conductance quanta. Using the nonlinearities of the current–voltage characteristics caused by superconductivity in combination with molecular dynamics and quantum transport calculations, we provide evidence that the switching process is caused by the reversible rearrangement of single atoms. Owing to its hysteretic behaviour with two distinct states, this two-terminal switch can be used as a non-volatile information storage element.

Subject (DDC)

530 Physics

Cite This

ISO 690

SCHIRM, Christian, Manuel MATT, Fabian PAULY, Juan Carlos CUEVAS, Peter NIELABA, Elke SCHEER, 2013. A current-driven single-atom memory. In: Nature Nanotechnology. 8(9), pp. 645-648. ISSN 1748-3387. eISSN 1748-3395. Available under: doi: 10.1038/nnano.2013.170

BibTex

@article{Schirm2013-09curre-24364,
  year={2013},
  doi={10.1038/nnano.2013.170},
  title={A current-driven single-atom memory},
  number={9},
  volume={8},
  issn={1748-3387},
  journal={Nature Nanotechnology},
  pages={645--648},
  author={Schirm, Christian and Matt, Manuel and Pauly, Fabian and Cuevas, Juan Carlos and Nielaba, Peter and Scheer, Elke}
}

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Bibliography of Konstanz

Yes