Inkjet printed BiFeO3 thin films with non-volatile resistive switching behaviors

•Pure BiFeO3 thin films were deposited on FTO substrates by an inkjet printing technique.•The bipolar resistive switching characteristics have been investigated in an Al/BFO/FTO heterostructure.•The switching of resistance between ON and OFF states is reproducible, reversible and controllable.•The resistive switching mechanism is explained by the localized traps-controlled space-charge-limited conduction mechanism. BiFeO3 (BFO) is the only material known to have both magnetism and strong ferroelectricity at room temperature. BFO inks prepared by the sol-gel method are deposited on FTO substrates, dense and stable BFO thin films are formed by multiple printing and pyrolysis processes. The effects of the inkjet voltage on surface and structure properties are characterized, and obvious bipolar resistive switching characteristics are obtained in Al/BFO/FTO devices. The resistance switching mechanism is primarily explained by the space charge limited conduction mechanism controlled by local traps. The switching between high resistance state and low resistance state is reproducible, reversible, and controllable. This result may enhance the application of BFO-based composites in non-volatile resistive random access memory.