Highly flexible and stable resistive switching devices based on WS 2 nanosheets:poly(methylmethacrylate) nanocomposites

This paper reports data for the electrical characteristics and the operating mechanisms of flexible resistive switching devices based on WS2 nanosheets (NSs) dispersed in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) layer. The ON/OFF ratio of the memristive device based on an Al/WS2 NSs:PMMA/indium tin oxides (ITO) structure was approximately 5.9 × 104. The memristive device based on the WS2 NSs also exhibited the bipolar switching characteristics with low power consumption and great performance in the bent state with radii of the curvatures of 20 and 10 mm. Especially, the results obtained after bending the device were similar to those observed before bending. The device showed nearly the same ON/OFF ratio for a retention time of 1 × 104 sec, and the number of endurance cycles was greater than 1 × 102. The set voltage and the reset voltage probability distributions for the setting and the resetting processes indicated bipolar switching characteristics. The operating and the carrier transport mechanisms of the Al/WS2 NSs:PMMA/ITO device could be explained based on the current-voltage results with the aid of an energy band diagram.