Modulation of resistive switching characteristics for individual BaTiO3 microfiber by surface oxygen vacancies

Different from traditional thin-film BaTiO3 (BTO) RRAM device with planar structure, individual microfiber-shaped RRAM device, showing promising application potentials in the micro-sized non-volatile memory system, has not been investigated so far to demonstrate resistive switching behavior. In this work, individual sol-gel BTO microfiber has been formed using the draw-bench method, followed by annealing in different atmospheres of air and argon, respectively. The resistive switching characteristics of the individual BTO microfiber have been investigated by employing double-probe SEM measurement system, which shows great convenience to test local electrical properties by modulating the contact sites between the W probes and the BTO microfiber. For the sample annealed in air, the average resistive ON/OFF ratio is as high as 108, enhanced about four orders in comparison with the counterpart that annealed in Argon. For the sample annealed in argon ambience, the weakened resistive ON/OFF ratio can be attributed to the increased presence of oxygen vacancies in the surface of BTO fibers, and the underlying electrical conduction mechanisms are also discussed.