Sol–Gel-Derived Spinel Ag-Co₃O₄ Nanocomposite Thin Films for Resistive and Magnetization Switching Applications

Sol–gel-derived spinel Ag-Co₃O₄ nanocomposite thin films are synthesized using a spin-coating method to investigate the resistive and magnetization switching effect. Compared with a pure Co₃O₄ thin-film device, an Ag-Co₃O₄ nanocomposite thin-film device reveals significant improvement in switching parameters. Uniformity and improvement in switching characteristics are attributed to the enhancement of local electric field and generation of oxygen vacancies by optimum Ag contents. Temperature dependence of resistive switching and magnetization analysis illustrate that induced oxygen vacancies and conversion of cation valence states (Co²⁺ and Co³⁺) are responsible for repairing and rupturing of conductive filaments. The findings offer a feasible and low-cost sol–gel technique to fabricate an Ag-Co₃O₄ nanocomposite-based device for multifunctional resistive random access memory (RRAM) applications.