Polymer-Engineered Interfaces for Tailoring Resistive Switching in TiO2-Based Memristors

Gregory Soon How Thien; Yee-Jet Wong; Kar Ban Tan; H.C. Ananda Murthy; B S Surendra; Kah-Yoong Chan

doi:10.48084/etasr.15885

Authors

Gregory Soon How Thien Centre for Advanced Devices and Systems, Centre of Excellence for Robotics and Sensing Technologies, Multimedia University, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Yee-Jet Wong Faculty of Artificial Intelligence and Engineering, Multimedia University, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia | Sandisk Storage Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Persiaran Cassia Selatan 1, Simpang Ampat, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Kar Ban Tan Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
H.C. Ananda Murthy Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Applied Sciences, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea
B S Surendra Department of Chemistry, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India
Kah-Yoong Chan Centre for Advanced Devices and Systems, Centre of Excellence for Robotics and Sensing Technologies, Multimedia University, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia | Faculty of Artificial Intelligence and Engineering, Multimedia University, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Volume: 16 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 33827-33835 | April 2026 | https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.15885

Received: 30 October 2025 | Revised: 9 December 2025 and 22 December 2025 | Accepted: 30 December 2025 | Online: 3 April 2026

Corresponding author: Kah-Yoong Chan

Abstract

Resistive Random-Access Memory (ReRAM) devices constitute a popular Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) solution. Nevertheless, TiO₂-based memristors suffer from instability and low endurance, with the effect of Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) polymer on improving these limitations being unexplored. This study examines the interfacial positioning of PMMA polymeric layers within TiO₂-based memristors. Four device structures were initially fabricated to analyze the effects of PMMA interfacial positioning on several Resistive Switching (RS) parameters using Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide (FTO) and Carbon (C) electrodes: (i) FTO/TiO₂/C, (ii) FTO/TiO₂/PMMA/C, (iii) FTO/PMMA/TiO₂/C, and (iv) FTO/PMMA/TiO₂/PMMA/C. Only FTO/TiO₂/PMMA/C and FTO/PMMA/TiO₂/C demonstrated clear bipolar RS behavior. The FTO/TiO₂/PMMA/C device exhibited the lowest SET/RESET voltage, an ON/OFF ratio of ~10¹, a retention of ~10⁴ s, and an endurance of ~10² cycles, underscoring the impact of PMMA placement on decreasing the switching threshold. These findings provide a novel strategy for designing next-generation NVM applications, in which the interfacial positioning role of polymers in optimizing ReRAM performance could be effectively understood.

Keywords:

resistive random-access memory, PMMA, TiO2, resistive switching, memristors

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