Influence of 120 MeV Au+9 ions irradiation on resistive switching properties of Cr:SrZrO3/SRO junctions

Swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation has been successfully used to modify structural and electrical properties of heterostructured Cr doped SrZrO3 thin films grown on 200 nm thick SrRuO3/SiO2 by chemical solution deposition method. Samples were irradiated by 120 MeV Au+9 ions with fluence value 1 × 1012 ions/cm2 in order to investigate the influence of SHI irradiation on the resistive switching (RS) phenomenon. Structural characterization with grazing angle X-ray diffraction exhibited an enhancement of crystallinity as well as crystallographic strain. Typical energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) spectrum was carried out to study the interface mixing, if any, after the ion irradiation. The pristine sample exhibits a narrow hysteresis loop in the current voltage (I–V) curves with maximum RS ratio of 98. Highly reproducible resistive switching characteristics with pronounced loops in the I–V curves have been observed for the irradiated Ag/Cr:SZO/SRO structure with maximum RS ratio of 985. I–V curves in low resistive state (LRS) demonstrate linear Ohmic conduction mechanism for both positive as well as negative bias region. The high resistive state (HRS) is consistent with space charge limited (SCLC) mechanism. The observed electrical behavior can be attributed to the high energy density of electronic excitations resulting from the impact of swift heavy ions induced defects and strain.