For Pt(Ag)/ZnO single-layer/Pt structure,random 10 formation and rupture of conductive filaments composed by oxygen vacancies or metallic ions often cause dispersion problems of resistive switching(RS)parameters,which is disadvantageous to devices application.In this study,ZnO/CoOx/ZnO(ZCZ)tri-layers were utilized as the switching layers to investigate their RS properties as compared with ZnO-based single-layer devices.It is interestingly noted that Pt/ZCZ/Pt devices show quite stable bipolar RS behaviors with little resistance value fluctuations compared to Ag/ZCZ/Pt devices and Pt(Ag)/ZnO/Pt devices,which minimize the dispersion of the resistances of RS.This highly stable RS effect of Pt/ZCZ/Pt structure would be promising for high density memory devices.
In recent years, with the growing concerns on environmental protection and human health, new materials, such as lead-free piezoelectric materials, have received increasing attention. So far, three types of lead-free piezoelectric systems have been widely researched, i.e., perovskites, bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics, and tungsten-bronze type ferroelectrics. This article presents a new type of environmental friendly piezoelectric material with simple structure, the transition-metal（TM）-doped ZnO. Through substituting Zn2＋ site with small size ion, we obtained a series of TM-doped ZnO with giant piezoresponse, such as Zno.975Vo.o250 of 170 pC/N, Zn0.94Cr0.06O of 120 pC/N, Zn0.913Mn0.0870 of 86 pC/N and Zn0.988Fe0.0120 of 127 pC/N. The tremendous piezoresponses are ascribed to the introduction of switchable spontaneous polarization and high permittivity in TM-doped ZnO, The microscopic origin of giant piezoresponse is also discussed. Substitution of TM ion with small ionic size for Zn2＋ results in the easier rotation of noncollinear TM-O1 bonds along the c axis under the applied field, which produces large piezoelectric displacement and corresponding piezoresponse enhancement. Furthermore, it proposes a general rule to guide the design of new wurtzite semiconductors with enhanced piezoresponses. That is, TM-dopant with ionic size smaller than Zn2＋ substitutes for Zn2＋ site will increase the piezoresponse of ZnO significantly. Finally, we discuss the improved per- formances of some TM-doped ZnO based piezoelectric devices.
Magnetic tunnel junctions （MTJs）, as the seminal spintronic devices, are expected for applications in magne- toresistive sensors due to their large magnetoresistance （MR） and high field sensitivity. Two hybrid Co/insulator/ZnO：Co junctions were fabricated with two different barriers to investigate the magneto-transport properties. Experimental results indicate that, both Co/MgO/ZnO：Co and Co/ZnO/ZnO：Co junctions show the positive and nearly linear MR, and their tunnel magnetoresistances （TMR） are 21.8% and 13.6%, respectively, when the current is applied perpendicular to the film plane under the magnetic field of 2 T at 4 K. The nonlinearity of MR is less than 1% within the magnetic field （H） of 1 kOe 〈 H 〈 12 kOe at low temperature, making them attractive as magnetoresistive sensors. The higher MR of Co/MgO/ZnO：Co junctions is due to the superior spin filtering effect and larger effective barrier height of the MgO barrier. This linear MR characteristic of Co/insulator/ZnO：Co structures shows a promising future on the applications of diluted magnetic semiconductors in magnetoresistive sensors.
Enhancing ion conductance and controlling transport pathway in organic electrolyte could be used to modulate ionic kinetics to handle signals. In a Pt/Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)/Polyethylene?Li CF3SO3/Pt hetero-junction, the electrolyte layer handled at high temperature showed nano-fiber microstructures accompanied with greatly improved salt solubility. Ions with high mobility were confined in the nano-fibrous channels leading to the semiconducting polymer layer,which is favorable for modulating dynamic doping at the semiconducting polymer/electrolyte interface by pulse frequency.Such a device realized synaptic-like frequency selectivity, i.e., depression at low frequency stimulation but potentiation at high-frequency stimulation.
Siheng LuFei ZengWenshuai DongAo LiuXiaojun LiJingting Luo
