IMF2017

Resistive switching (RS) memory effect holds great promise for the next generation logical and non-volatile memory devices. Ferroelectric materials can be used for non volatile memory applications, eg., ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAM) because of their switchable spontaneous polarization, but their destructive readout scheme limits their application. Ferroelectric materials such as SrTiO₃, BiFeO₃, PZT, BaTiO₃ and Pr_(1-x)Ca_xMnO₃ have been exploited for resistive switching applications because their spontaneous electrical polarization improves the tuning charge properties at ferroelectric/metal interface. However, until now the RS effect of the metal/BFO/BTO/metal sandwiched structure has not been investigated, though the sandwiched structure is very important for real technical applications. In this paper, the RS characteristics in Pt/BFO/BTO/Pt sandwiched structures deposited by pulsed laser deposition have been studied and bipolar RS behavior is observed which may be attributed to the formation/rupture of nanoscale metal filaments into the multiferroic material due to the diffusion of the top electrodes under a bias voltage. The Pt/BFO/BTO/Pt sandwiched devices show both the well-established P–E hysteresis loops, along with reliable and reproducible resistance switching behaviors. The resistance ratio between the high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) for the Pt/BFO/BTO/Pt sandwiched structure was about 100. The device exhibited good retention characteristics and low switching voltages.