BIPOLAR RESISTIVE SWITCHING IN Au/TiO2/Pt THIN FILM STRUCTURES

The conditions and physical mechanisms of electroforming and subsequent resistive switching in Au/TiO2/Pt thin film structures were investigated. It was concluded that the electroforming, being a current-limited electric breakdown of the TiO2 films, resulted in a considerable increase of the oxygen vacancy concentration in the bulk and on the surface of the films. The resistive switching implemented by short voltage pulses of different polarities is proposed to be due to the change of the Schottky barrier height at the Pt/TiO2 interface as a result of the current-induced variation of the occupancy by electrons of the surface states in the band gap of TiO2.