Bistable Electrical Switching in Polymer Thin Films

Abstract

Reproducible bistable switching has been observed in Au-Polymer-Au junctions. The polymer is formed by a glow-discharge polymerization technique. The resistance ratio is more than 107 and structures can be switched more than 2000 times. When the polymer thickness is lower than 1500 Å, the threshold voltage increases linearly with the polymer thickness. A scanning electron microscope picture of a junction that has been switched shows circular dots, ranging between 5- and 10- μm diameter, on the surface. These dots are probably due to current-carrying filaments.