Impedance spectroscopy of manganite films prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition.

Polycrystalline Pr(1-x)CaxMnO3 (PCMO) films were prepared by liquid source metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using in situ infrared spectroscopic monitoring. The electric properties of the PCMO-based devices with Ni and Al electrodes (Ni-PCMO-Ni and Al-PCMO-Al devices) were studied by dc current-voltage (I-V) measurements and ac impedance spectroscopy. The current varied linearly with the applied voltage in Ni-PCMO-Ni devices, while nonlinear behavior was observed in I-V curves for Al-PCMO-Al devices. Impedance spectra were also different between Ni-PCMO-Ni and Al-PCMO-Al devices. The Cole-Cole plots for the Ni-PCMO-Ni devices showed only a single semicircular arc, which was assigned to the PCMO bulk impedance. Impedance spectra for the Al-PCMO-Al devices had two distinct components, which could be attributed to the PCMO bulk and to the interface between the PCMO film and the Al electrode, respectively. The bias dependence of the impedance spectra suggested that the resistance switching in the Al-PCMO-Al devices was mainly due to the resistance change in the interface between the film and the electrode. The metal electrode plays an important role in the resistance switching in the PCMO-based devices. The choice of the optimum metal electrodes is essential to the ReRAM application of the manganite-based devices.