Resistive switching mechanism in delafossite-transition metal oxide ( CuInO 2 - CuO ) bilayer structure

This study reports reversible and unipolar resistive switching in oxide bilayer structure due to the conversion of rectifying CuInO 2 - CuO semiconductor heterojunction to metal-semiconductor CuInO 2 - Cu Ohmic contact. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and conducting atomic force microscopy studies establish that switching occurs due to formation of conducting Cu filaments in CuO layer with CuInO 2 layer remaining unaffected. The bilayer structure, with CuO layer acting as the switching element and CuInO 2 layer as the resistance controlling element, exhibits improved switching parameters in comparison to single CuO layer.