Resistive switching and magnetism in transparent a-TiOx films deposited by magnetron sputtering

A fully transparent all-oxide device using magnetron-sputtered amorphous TiOx (a-TiOx) as the resistive switching (RS) layer and indium tin oxide (ITO) as electrodes was fabricated herein. The ITO/a-TiOx/ITO device exhibited not only 82-96% transmission of visible light, but also excellent RS and magnetic variation characteristics at low voltages, such as forming-free, centralized SET and RESET voltages, and large ratios of RS and magnetic variations. Both the RS and magnetic variations originated from the migration of oxygen vacancies (VOS) in the film. Further analysis indicated that the high VO concentration, strong oxygen affinity of ITO, and the unstable local structures of the a-TiOx film were responsible for enhancing the electrical control of RS and magnetism. Combined with the advantage of large-scale industrial production using the magnetron sputtering technique, we expect a-TiOx-based devices to show great potential for practical applications in future nonvolatile and transparent electronics.