Anneal temperature dependence of resistive switching and photoelectric properties of Bismuth ferrite thin film prepared via sol–gel method

Abstract

Enhancement on resistive switching characteristics of Bismuth ferrite (BFO) has attracted persistent interest in the past decades due to the inimitable interior structure. In the work, the amorphous and the polycrystalline Bismuth ferrite thin films have been successfully prepared via sol–gel method. We utilize X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscope and absorption spectrum to characterize the internal structure and calculate the band gap of Bismuth ferrite thin film samples. By comparing the current–voltage (I-V) characteristics between the amorphous and the polycrystalline sample, we investigate the amorphous sample has better resistive switching performance (switching ratio is 104) than that of polycrystalline (101) bismuth ferrite thin film devices. However, the polycrystalline Bismuth ferrite sample exhibits favorable switchable photovoltaic response and good stability. Additionally, we discuss the conduction mechanism via the double logarithm fitting of amorphous Bismuth ferrite sample. The article also indicates that resistive switching property is closely related with the defects such as oxygen vacancies. The article deepens the comprehension of resistive switching properties of amorphous and polycrystalline Bismuth ferrite thin film which would have further potential applications in advanced electronic devices such as new resistive memory.