Resistive switching artificially induced in a dielectric/ferroelectric composite diode

Ferroelectric resistive switching was artificially induced in a conductive ferroelectric capacitor by inserting a thin dielectric layer at an electrode/ferroelectric interface. Ferroelectric capacitors consisting of semiconducting Bi-deficient Bi1−δFeO3 layers with SrRuO3 electrodes showed no resistive switching, but resistive switching emerged in these ferroelectric capacitors when a thin LaFeO3 dielectric layer was inserted at one of the SrRuO3/Bi1−δFeO3 interfaces. In addition to resistive switching, SrRuO3/LaFeO3/Bi1−δFeO3/SrRuO3 devices showed rectifying current–voltage characteristics, suggesting an asymmetric potential distribution along the stacking direction in the device. The results shed light upon the mechanism of resistive switching in ferroelectric diodes and demonstrate that interface engineering provides a simple but effective approach toward controlling the ferroelectric resistive switching characteristics.