Transparent amorphous memory cell: A bipolar resistive switching in ZnO/Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3/ITO for invisible electronics application

• ITO/ZnO/PCMO/ITO amorphous films were firstly investigated for the switching.
• Stable bipolar resistive switching is maintained in ITO/ZnO/PCMO/ITO structure.
• High transparency is obtained with a maximum transparency of 84.6% at 590 nm.
• It exhibits a potential application due to durable resistive switching behavior.

ZnO/Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (ZnO/PCMO) amorphous thin films were grown on an indium-tin-oxide (ITO)/glass by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. Interestingly, a stable bipolar resistive switching behavior of the ITO/ZnO/PCMO/ITO cell can be longer than 2.5 × 103 cycles. The on/off ratio of switching behaviors is as high as 104. The structure of ITO/ZnO/PCMO/ITO exhibits a high average transparency of 79.6% in the visible range with a maximum transparency of 84.6% at 590 nm wavelength. The conductive mechanism during switching cycling in our structure can be described by a trapped-control space charge limited current behavior. The ZnO/PCMO/ITO/glass structure shows a potential of the transparent memory for future invisible electronics devices.