Electric-pulse-induced capacitance change effect in perovskite oxide thin films

A reversible nonvolatile capacitance change effect has been observed in perovskite oxide thin films at room temperature under the application of electrical pulses of low voltage and short duration. The pulse-induced nonvolatile capacitance change is seen to coexist with a pulse-induced nonvolatile resistance change reported earlier. It is shown that the capacitance values of Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 samples can be set to either two specific states or to multiple discrete capacitance levels. The observed effect has potential applications including variable capacitors and nonvolatile two-state or multiple-level memories. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.