Local resistive switching of Nd doped BiFeO3 thin films

Local resistive switching behavior was investigated in Nd doped BiFeO3 thin film by conductive atomic force microscopy. The resistance of grains in Nd doped BiFeO3 thin films was reversibly switched between a low and high resistance state. When scanning a part of a grain interior, the whole grain eventually switched. Neighbouring grains, however, exhibited different values of conductance and remained unswitched. To explain this observation, it is proposed that the mobility of oxygen vacancies varies from grain to grain and that grain boundaries act as a barrier to their diffusion. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3701270]