Impact of Proton Irradiation on Threshold Switching Dynamics in Niobium Oxide Mott Memristors

Mott memristors have attracted significant attention for their applications in neuromorphic computing in deep space tasks. However, the devices’ reliability under radioactive environments remains a critical concern. In this work, we investigate the impact of proton irradiation on the performance of NbOxmemristors and reveal the underlying mechanisms. Our findings indicate that proton irradiation drastically impacts the electrical characteristics of the device, such as the increased threshold voltage from 1.2 V to >2 V and higher cycle to cycle variation. This is likely due to the change in conductive filament sizes and partial surface destructions, which are supported by associated Photoluminescence (PL) Spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) results. Interestingly, self-healing effects are observed after two weeks, possibly due to room temperature annealing effects. This study provides valuable insights into the effects of proton irradiation effects on NbOxMott memristor and its applications in artificial spiking neurons.