Asymmetric electrical bistable behavior of an eicosanoic acid/zirconium oxide bilayer system with rectifying effect

The electrical switching characteristics of eicosanoic acid (EA)/zirconium oxide (ZrO2) bilayer thin films are investigated in this letter. The devices have a sandwich structure of aluminum (Al)/EA/ZrO2/gold (Au) and exhibit asymmetric electrical bistable behavior with a rectifying effect through resistive switching. Reversible and reproducible bistable switching properties were observed by applying certain voltages. The asymmetry and rectifying bistable behavior is proposed to result from the Schottky barrier that is present by reason of the ZrO2 layer. The rectifying effect can significantly improve misreading in matrix crossbar memory based on bistable two-terminal devices, paving a way for a practical crossbar molecular memory. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.