Giant and stable conductivity switching behaviors in ZrO2films deposited by pulsed laser depositions

ZrO2 films have been deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition methods. Giant and stable conductivity switching behaviors with maximum on/off ratio of 106 and switching endurance of 105 times are observed in a typical Pt/ZrO2/Pt structure. The Pt/ZrO2/Pt structure exhibits two ohmic behaviors in the low-voltage region (V < 1.4 V) depending on the value of previously applied voltage and Schottky-type conduction in the high-voltage region (1.4 V< V <8.9 V). It seems that the conductivity switching behaviors result from the changes in both the Schottky barrier and the bulk conductivity controlled by applied voltages.