Electrically reversible cracks in an intermetallic film controlled by an electric field

Publication Type
Journal Article
Authors
DOI
10.1038/s41467-017-02454-8
Abstract
Cracks in solid-state materials are typically irreversible. Here we report electrically reversible opening and closing of nanoscale cracks in an intermetallic thin film grown on a ferroelectric substrate driven by a small electric field ( 0.83 kV/cm). Accordingly, a nonvolatile colossal electroresistance on-off ratio of more than 108 is measured across the cracks in the intermetallic film at room temperature. Cracks are easily formed with low-frequency voltage cycling and remain stable when the device is operated at high frequency, which offers intriguing potential for next-generation high-frequency memory applications. Moreover, endurance testing demonstrates that the opening and closing of such cracks can reach over 107 cycles under 10-μs pulses, without catastrophic failure of the film. © 2017 The Author(s).
Notes
cited By 18
Journal
Nature Communications
Volume
9
Year of Publication
2018
Number
1
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
ISSN Number
20411723
Keywords
Research Areas
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