Comprehensive study of the resistance switching in SrTiO3 and Nb-doped SrTiO3

We have demonstrated that the resistance switching (RS) effect can be controlled by the modification of the electrode configurations and the carrier densities in the Ag/SrTiO3 and Ag/Nb-doped SrTiO3(Nb:STO) structures. The elimination of the Schottky junction in the metal/Nb:STO completely destroys the RS effect, which suggests that the RS effect originates from the modification of Schottky-like barrier formed at the interface of metal/Nb: STO. The rectifying I-V curves revealed that the change in resistance was attributed to the trapping or detrapping carriers at the interface. The carrier density plays an important role in the determination of RS effect. The presence of the RS in SrTiO3 requires an appropriate doping level to provide conditions for trapping carriers at the interface. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3569586]