Electrical conduction of zirconium oxide films

The electronic conduction processes in anodic zirconium oxide films have been studied under d.c. and a.c. conditions over a wide range of temperature and frequency. Provided that the dielectric films were heat treated, results showed that under d.c. fields, a single modified form of the Poole-Frenkel mechanism dominated the electronic conduction; under a.c. fields, however, the conduction was attributed to electronic hopping between localised sites. Thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements showed that on heat treatment the TSC spectrum was broadened. Several forms of resistance switching have been observed; of these the bistable form was dominant and has been studied in some detail.