Characterization of ZrTiO4 thin films prepared by sol–gel method

The electrical properties, memory switching behavior, and microstructures of ZrTiO4 thin films prepared by sol–gel method at different annealing temperatures were investigated. All films exhibited ZrTiO4 (111) and (101) orientations perpendicular to the substrate surface, and the grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature. A low leakage current density of 1.47×10−6 A/cm2 was obtained for the prepared films. The I–V characteristics of ZrTiO4 capacitors can be explained in terms of ohmic conduction in the low electric field region and Schottky emission in the high electric field region. An on/off ratio of 102 was measured in our glass/ITO/ZrTiO4/Pt structure with an annealing temperature of 600 °C. Considering the primary memory switching behavior of ZrTiO4, ReRAM based on ZrTiO4 shows promise for future nonvolatile memory applications.