Direct current voltage sweep and alternating current impedance analysis of SrZrO3 memory device in ON and OFF states

The resistive switching (RS) effect of sputtered SrZrO3 memory cell is investigated by current-voltage (I-V) and impedance spectroscopy (IS) measurements for ON and OFF states. While the ON-state conduction in I-V exhibits ohmic relation of slightly temperature dependence, the OFF-state transport follows Frenkel-Poole mechanism and Arrhenius plot detects a single trap at 0.37 eV. An equivalent circuit model derived from the combined impedance-modulus spectra is proposed to characterize the real IS response. The extracted film capacitance and contact resistance keep constant at 25-100 degrees C and, by contrast, the film resistance reveals activation energy of 0.08 eV. Both I-V and IS analyses indicate the domination of the OFF-state film conduction on the observed RS behavior and thermal effect. For doped perovskites, the OFF-state electrical property is associated with the presence of film-interior oxygen vacancies. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.