Coexistence of resistive switching and magnetism modulation in sol-gel derived nanocrystalline spinel Co₃O₄ thin films

We report the coexistence of resistive switching and magnetism modulation in the Pt/Co₃O₄/Pt devices, where the effects of thermal annealing and film thickness on the resistive and magnetization switching were investigated. The sol-gel derived nanocrystalline Co₃O₄ thin films obtained crack-free surface and crystallized cubic spinel structure. The 110 nm Co₃O₄ film based device annealed at 600 °C exhibited optimum resistive switching parameters. From I–V curves fitting and temperature dependent resistance, the conduction mechanism in the high-voltage region of high resistance state was dominated by Schottky emission. Magnetization-magnetic field loops demonstrated the ferromagnetic behaviors of the Co₃O₄ thin films. Multilevel saturation magnetization of the Co₃O₄ thin films can be easily realized by tuning the resistance states. Physical resistive switching mechanism can be attributed to the rejuvenation and annihilation of conductive filament consisting of oxygen vacancies. Results suggest that Pt/Co₃O₄/Pt device shows promising applications in the multifunctional electromagnetic integrated devices.