Manganite based memristors: Influence of the electroforming polarity on the electrical behavior and radiation hardness

We report on the fabrication and characterization of La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 manganite-based memristive devices. Polycrystalline manganite thin films were grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition, while metallic electrodes were deposited by sputtering. We show that, depending on the polarity of the initial electroforming, both clockwise and anti-clockwise current-voltage curves can be obtained. We attribute this behavior to the coexistence of different resistive switching mechanisms. We finally evaluate the electrical behavior of our devices after irradiation with high energy oxygen ions. We find no significant difference in the dielectric breakdown voltages between irradiated and non-irradiated devices, indicating that they may present radiation hardness and could be therefore appropriate for space or nuclear applications.