Epitaxial growth and resistive switching properties of BaTiO3on (0 0 1) Si by RF sputtering

Epitaxial BaTiO3 (0 0 1) thin films with a TiN template layer have been deposited on Si(0 0 1) single crystal substrates by RF sputtering. The deposited BaTiO3 films showed a very smooth surface with a roughness of 0.75 nm. The orientation relationship was determined to be BaTiO3(0 0 1)[1 1 0]||TiN(0 0 1)[1 1 0]||Si(0 0 1)[1 1 0]. The microstructure and interface of the heterostructure were studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The electron diffraction pattern confirmed the epitaxial relationship between each layer. The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the TiN/BaTiO3/TiN/Si sample showed a clear resistive switching. The ratio of the high resistance state to the low resistance state is 150 with an input voltage from −4.5 to 4.5 V.