Resistive switching behaviors in the BaTiO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 layered heterostructure driven by external electric field

•Nonvolatile resistive switching behaviors are observed by controlling the polarity of the BTO film.•The variation TMI of the LSMO layer was caused by the change of external electric field.•The converse magnetoelectric effect can be realized through the movement of polarized carriers. By controlling the polarization direction of BaTiO3 (BTO) layer, the nonvolatile and reversible resistive switching behavior of the BaTiO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (BTO/LSMO) layered heterostructure have been observed. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique was used to prepare it on the (0 0 1) oriented single-crystal SrTiO3 (STO) substrate, and its magnetic and electric properties were studied. Moreover, the change of the resistivity and metal–insulator transition temperature (TMI) for the LSMO layer were found to be induced by the switching of the electric field direction. The resistivity is decreased while the TMI is increased for the accumulation state of hole carriers when a negative electric field is applied to the BTO layer. By contrast, the resistivity is increased while the TMI is decreased for the depletion state of hole carriers when a positive electric field is applied to the BTO layer. This result indicates a nonvolatile and reversible resistive switching behavior in the multiferroic heterostructure control through the external electric field on ferroelectric layer, which provides a platform to develop unique electronic devices, such as nonvolatile random-access memories, sensors and memristive devices, etc.