Electric field-induced coexistence of nonvolatile resistive and magnetization switching in Pt/NiO/Nb:SrTiO3 heterostructure

We report the coexistence of nonvolatile resistive and magnetization switching in Pt/NiO/Nb:SrTiO3 heterostructures. These structures exhibit bipolar resistive switching (RS) behavior with multilevel RS characteristics, a maximum RS ratio of 10(5), and stable endurance properties. Under simple application of voltage pulses, the saturation magnetization of the NiO layer increases by up to three times in the different resistance states. This electrical modulation of both the resistive and magnetization switching properties is attributed to the migration of oxygen vacancies and charge trapping and detrapping at the heterojunction interface. Our results provide a pathway towards the electrical switching of both resistance and magnetization, which is likely to be useful for RS and magnetic multifunctional device applications. Published by AIP Publishing.