Deposition Temperature and Thickness Effect on the Resistive Switching in BiFeO3 Films

Pt/BiFeO3/SrRuO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures with significant resistive switching characteristics have been successfully fabricated via magnetron sputtering, and the effect of thicknesses and deposition temperatures on the resistive switching properties has also been investigated. The resistive behaviors and conduction mechanisms can be modulated by the thickness and deposition temperatures of bismuth ferrite perovskite oxide (BFO) films. BFO films with a smaller thickness of 80 nm and higher deposition temperature of 670 degrees C show larger memory window over 1000 and lower switching voltage below 1.5 V. Moreover, the conduction mechanisms of Pt/BiFeO3/SrRuO3/SrTiO3 resistive cell change from the space charge-limited conduction model to the conductive filament type with the decrease of BFO film thickness possibly due to more oxygen vacancies and defects. Furthermore, oxygen partial pressure also influences the memory window and conduction mechanism of BFO resistive cells by increasing or decreasing the oxygen vacancy defects in BFO films.