Bipolar resistive switching in YMnO3/Nb: SrTiO3 pn-heterojunctions

Resistively switching oxides are promising materials for use in electronic applications such as nonvolatile memories, logic gates, and artificial synapses. This work presents the bipolar resistive switching (BRS) in YMnO3/Nb:SrTiO3 pn-heterojunctions. A thermally driven electroforming process is required prior to the observed BRS. Results indicate that the BRS in YMnO3/Nb:SrTiO3 originates from the combined effects of charge trapping and detrapping processes along with the electro-migration of charged point defects in the depletion layer of the pn-heterojunction. It is shown that the built-in voltage of the pn-heterojunctions can be tuned by the oxygen partial pressure during growth of the YMnO3 thin film and impacts the working parameters of the resistively switching cell. This study provides a guideline for material engineering of bipolar resistive switches based on pn-heterojunctions.