Effect of memory electrical switching in metal/vanadium oxide/silicon structures with VO2 films obtained by the sol–gel method

Electrical switching and rectifying properties of the metal–VO2–Si structures, on both p-type and n-type silicon, with vanadium dioxide films obtained by an acetylacetonate sol–gel method, are studied. The switching effect is shown to be due to the semiconductor-to-metal phase transition (SMPT) in vanadium dioxide. The shift of the switching threshold voltage, accompanied by the memory effect, in forward bias of the p-Si–VO2 anisotype heterojunction is observed. To explain this effect, a model is proposed which suggests the existence of an additional series resistance associated with a channel at the VO2/Si interface, where a SiOх layer forms during the VO2 deposition process. This resistance is responsible for both threshold switching characteristics, and the memory effect, and the oxygen ion electromigration process is shown to underlie this effect. Potential applications of the observed phenomena, combining the effects of ReRAM and SMPT, in oxide electronics are discussed.