Resistive switching and Schottky barrier modulation at CoPt/ ferroelectric-like MgZnO interface for non-volatile memories

Ferroelectric memristors have attracted much attention as a type of nonvolatile resistance switching memories in neuromorphic computing, image recognition, and information storage. Their resistance switching mechanisms have been studied several times in perovskite and complicated materials systems. It was interpreted as the modulation of carrier transport by polarization control over Schottky barriers. Here, we experimentally report the isothermal resistive switching across a CoPt/MgZnO Schottky barrier using a simple binary semiconductor. The crystal and texture properties showed high-quality and single-crystal Co0.30Pt0.70/Mg0.20Zn0.80O hetero-junctions. The resistive switching was examined by an electric-field cooling method that exhibited a ferroelectric Curie temperature of MgZnO close to the bulk value. The resistive switching across CoPt/MgZnO Schottky barrier was accompanied by a change in the Schottky barrier height of 26.5 meV due to an interfacial charge increase and/or orbital hybridization induced partial reversal of the MgZnO polarization. The magnitude of the reversed polarization was estimated to be a reasonable value of 3.0 (8.25) μC/cm2 at 300 K (2 K). These findings demonstrated the utilities of CoPt/MgZnO interface as a potential candidate for ferroelectric memristors and advanced spintronics applications.