Effects of temperature and ambient pressure on the resistive switching behaviour of polymer-based atomic switches

Current-voltage measurements demonstrated the effects of temperature on the resistive switching behaviour of a gapless-type atomic switch based on a silver-ion-conductive solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) consisting of a mixture of polyethylene oxide (PEO) and AgClO₄. The operation voltages decreased in magnitude with increased ambient temperature. The reduction of the operation voltages can be explained by the increased conductivity of silver ions in the amorphous PEO-salt complex region of the SPE film. This situation is completely different from a cell with a pure PEO film, in which the increased crystallinity of the PEO film may hinder the ionic conductivity, although similar switching behaviour was observed. It was also found that cells based on SPE and PEO show different behaviours under air and vacuum conditions. This is probably associated with different water uptakes from the ambient surroundings by the SPE and PEO films. The results suggest the importance of the crystallinity and water uptake ability of the matrix polymer film on the resistive switching characteristics.