Temperature influence and reset voltage study of bipolar resistive switching behaviour in ZrO2 thin films

We have fabricated ZrO 2 thin films by sol–gel deposition and annealed them at 300, 500 and 700 °C. Reproducible I – V curves can be obtained for the device Cu/ZrO 2 /ATO which is measured at room temperature (300 K). During the RESET operation, R L and R H values can be controlled by the RESET voltage. Moreover, the Cu/ZrO 2 /ATO device which the ZrO 2 thin film annealed at 300 °C can be measured as resistive switching sweeps at 200, 100 and 50 K. It was found that the ratio of R off / R on reduced when the measured temperature decreased. When the I – V measurement temperature decreases, R on decreases obviously which is typical for electronic transportation in a Cu metal. It is indicated that the Cu metallic conduction filament has been formed in the ZrO 2 films. Besides, the microstructure by high resolution transmission electrical microscopy (HRTEM) was also investigated.