Dependence of electrode on switching effect of Pr1-xCaxMnO3 thin film

We examined the effect of top-electrode materials on the electric-pulse-induced resistance (EPIR) change property of Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (PCMO) thin films grown on a Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate. To investigate the top-electrode effect, we used Al, Pt, Au/Cr and An (10%)-Pd (90%) alloy metals as the top electrodes on PCMO films with a Pt bottom electrode. The thin films with an At top and a Au/Cr electrode exhibited EPIR switching phenomena. With a top electrode of 75 mu m diameter circle, the Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 film shows a low resistance in the range of 20-40 Omega. The ratio between low resistance and high resistance is approximately 2 under an applied single pulse of 50 ns duration and +/- 4 V magnitude. On the contrary, the thin films with Pt and Au-Pd alloy top electrodes exhibited no EPIR switching.