Nonvolatile bipolar resistive switching in Au/BiFeO3/Pt

TL;DR

This paper reports nonvolatile bipolar resistive switching in an Au/BiFeO3/Pt structure, enabled by electric field-induced carrier trapping, leading to stable resistance states with a large resistance ratio, without the need for electroforming.

Contribution

It demonstrates a new resistive switching mechanism in BiFeO3 devices using interface engineering and carrier trapping, without electroforming.

Findings

Resistive switching with over two orders of magnitude resistance change.

Stable resistance states achieved without electroforming.

Switching controlled by electric field-induced carrier trapping.

Abstract

Nonvolatile bipolar resistive switching has been observed in an Au/BiFeO3/Pt structure, where a Schottky contact and a quasi-Ohmic contact were formed at the Au/BiFeO3 and BiFeO3/Pt interface, respectively. By changing the polarity of the external voltage, the Au/BiFeO3/Pt is switched between two stable resistance states without an electroforming process. The resistance ratio is larger than two orders of magnitude. The resistive switching is understood by the electric field - induced carriers trapping and detrapping, which changes the depletion layer thickness at the Au/BiFeO3 interface.