CHARACTERIZING RESISTIVE SWITCHING PHENOMENA OF BINARY TRANSITION METAL OXIDES BY SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Three binary TMO, namely NiO, TiO2, and VO2, were prepared by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in the form of thin films. By adjusting the PLD parameters, samples with different oxygen vacancies (or ions) concentrations and film thicknesses were obtained. The advanced Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) techniques, including the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), conductive Atomic Force Microcopy (c-AFM), Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) and Electrochemical Strain Microscopy (ESM), were employed to characterize the thin film samples. Results in this work 1) have illustrated the RS properties of TMO from the point of the ionic and electrochemical processes, 2) have demonstrated the influence of the concentration of oxygen vacancy and the film thickness on the RS of TMO, 3) have suggested improving the RS endurance by controlling the moisture concentration, and 4) have evidenced the conductivity variations induced by multiple stimuli.