Diode-like volatile resistive switching properties in amorphous Sr-doped LaMnO3 thin films under lower current compliance

Amorphous Sr-doped LaMnO3 (a-LSMO) thin films can exhibit diode-like volatile resistive switching (RS) properties under lower compliance current (CC). The Ag/a-LSMO/Pt cell exhibits stable volatile RS cycles up to 100 times with rectification ratio above 10(2). The volatility depends strongly on the temperature as well as the CC-controlled dimension of the Ag nanofilament forming in a-LSMO. The conductive atomic force microscopy current-mapping images confirm the instability of conducting nanofilaments forming under lower CC. The volatile RS behaviors could be explained by the Rayleigh instability of the Ag nanofilament, together with the diffusion of Ag atoms to the a-LSMO matrix. The diode-like volatile RS properties have great application potential in the beyond von-Neumann computers. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.