Polarization-field tuning and stable performance of the resistance switching in a ferroelectric/amorphous PbZr_0.2Ti_0.8O₃/La₂Zr_{2O7 heterostructure}

PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3/La2Zr2O7 (PZT/LZO) bilayer and amorphous La2Zr2O7 thin films were fabricated using pulse laser deposition and radio frequency magnetron sputtering. A typical and robust bipolar resistive switching (RS) behavior was revealed in the PZT/LZO heterostructure at room temperature. Compared with LZO single film, the PZT/LZO heterostructure exhibits a better RS property with a one order magnitude higher HRS/LRS ratio. More interestingly, the RS of PZT/LZO structure exhibited a stable degradation RS performance until 10(3) cycles at room temperature. The conduction mechanism in PZT/LZO bilayer can be attributed to the space-limited-conduction (SCLC) and Schottky-barrier models, while LZO thin film was attributed to SCLC conduction. As a result, the PZT/LZO bilayer under polarization field tuning shows an effective way to improve the RS performance and provides a new route for RRAM applications.