Memory electrical switching in hydrated amorphous vanadium dioxide

Experimental data for the effect of memory electrical switching in a metal—oxide—metal structure based on hydrated vanadium dioxide obtained by the method of anodic—cathodic polarization are discussed. A model that assumes the key role of the ion current in the switching mechanism is suggested. This model makes it possible to determine the critical parameters of the material (the concentration and mobility of impurity ions) that influence the origination of the effect. The field dependence of the ion mobility derived by simulating the switching effect is explained through the hopping transfer mechanism in terms of the percolation theory.