Memristive effects in YBa2Cu3O7-x devices with transistor-like structure

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a memristive device using YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor, where electrical control of oxygen content induces reversible and irreversible resistance changes, enabling potential applications in superconducting electronics.

Contribution

It introduces a transistor-like memristive device based on YBCO with electrically controlled oxygen exchange, revealing new mechanisms for superconducting memory and switching.

Findings

Giant bipolar conductance switching across two decades.

Reversible control of conductance states via gate voltage.

Irreversible superconductor-insulator transition linked to power dissipation.

Abstract

Cuprate superconductors are strongly sensitive materials to disorder and oxygen stoichiometry; even minute variations of those parameters drastically change their electronic properties. Here we exploit this characteristic to engineer a memristive device based on the high-T_C superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO), in which local changes of the oxygen content and induced disorder are exploited to produce memory effects. These effects are triggered electrically in a three-terminal device whose structure is reminiscent of a transistor, consisting of a YBCO channel and an Al gate. The Al/YBCO interface, which controls the gate conductance, displays a giant, bipolar, reversible switching across a continuum of non-volatile conductance states that span over two Decades. This phenomenon is controlled by the gate voltage magnitude and is caused by oxygen exchange between YBCO and Al. Concomitantly, the channel shows a gradual, irreversible superconductor-to-insulator transition that retains a memory of the power dissipated in the device, and can be explained by induced bulk disorder. The observed effects, and the understanding of the interplay between the underlying mechanisms, constitute interesting ingredients for the design and realization of novel memristors and switches for superconducting electronics.