Effect of substrate on memristive switching of Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3

Perovskite manganite Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (PCMO) thin film nanostructures were grown on different substrates by chemical solution deposition to investigate its electrical switching properties. Planar structures consisting of Ag/Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3/Ag grown on SiO2, Si (100), LaAlO3 (100) and MgO (100) were characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and electrical measurements. In each case, single PCMO phase formation and smooth surface morphology was confirmed by XRD and MM, respectively. Four terminal current voltage characteristics of Ag/PCMO/Ag planar geometry exhibited a sharp transition from a low resistance state (LRS) to a high resistance state (HRS) with a high resistance switching ratios of the order of 950 for PCMO films grown on quartz was estimated at room temperature. High resistance switching ratios were found to depend on the substrate, suggesting a role of lattice mismatch for resistance switching. We have observed that higher mismatch lead to better resistance switching in this compound. The observed conduction characteristics provide direct evidence of substrate strain induce resistance switching in the Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3.