# Reversible transitions in high-$T_c$ cuprates based point contacts

## TL;DR

This study investigates electric field and current-induced switching transitions in high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors using point contacts, revealing oxygen electromigration as the key mechanism, with effects persisting up to room temperature and high magnetic fields.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that electric fields and currents can induce reversible resistance switching in high-$T_c$ cuprates via oxygen electromigration, a novel insight into their electronic behavior.

## Key findings

- Switching transitions occur between different resistance states.
- The effect persists up to room temperature.
- Magnetic fields up to 10 T do not suppress the switching.

## Abstract

The influence of electric felds and currents has been investigated in the high-$T_c$ superconductors $YBaCuO$ and $BiSrCaCuO$ using a point-contact geometry with $Ag$ as the counterelectrode, which reveal switching transitions between states of a different resistance. The origin of this effect in point contacts is associated with electromigration of the oxygen, driven by the electric feld as well as by the currentinduced "electron wind". The switching effect preserves its basic features at elevated temperatures up to room temperature and in high magnetic felds up to 10 T.