Current-induced colossal electroresistance in La0.8Ba0.2MnO3 films fabricated by sol–gel method

Transport properties of La0.8Ba0.2MnO3 thin films deposited by the sol–gel method were investigated. It has been found that resistivity plateaus occurred in the ρ–T curves after application of a dc bias current over a critical value. A current of 200 μA could induce a huge resistance variation ∼1200% in these La0.8Ba0.2MnO3 films near room temperature, demonstrating a colossal electroresistance effect. Such strange transport behavior suggests the formation of conductive filaments and that the multi-phase coexistence is sensitive to external stimuli. This phenomenon may find applications in sensing and logic devices.