Non-volatile resistive switching in the Mott insulator (V1−xCrx)2O3

Abstract

The discovery of non-volatile resistive switching in Mott insulators related to an electric-field-induced insulator to metal transition (IMT) has paved the way for their use in a new type of non-volatile memories, the Mott memories. While most of the previous studies were dedicated to uncover the resistive switching mechanism and explore the memory potential of chalcogenide Mott insulators, we present here a comprehensive study of resistive switching in the canonical oxide Mott insulator (V1−xCrx)2O3. Our work demonstrates that this compound undergoes a non-volatile resistive switching under electric field. This resistive switching is induced by a Mott transition at the local scale which creates metallic domains closely related to existing phases of the temperature-pressure phase diagram of (V1−xCrx)2O3. Our work demonstrates also reversible resistive switching in (V1−xCrx)2O3 crystals and thin film devices. Preliminary performances obtained on 880nm thick layers with 500nm electrodes show the strong potential of Mott memories based on the Mott insulator (V1−xCrx)2O3.