Au Nanoparticles as Template for Defect Formation in Memristive SrTiO(3) Thin Films

We investigated the possibility of tuning the local switching properties of memristive crystalline SrTiO [Formula: see text] thin films by inserting nanoscale defect nucleation centers. For that purpose, we employed chemically-synthesized Au nanoparticles deposited on 0.5 wt%-Nb-doped SrTiO [Formula: see text] single crystal substrates as a defect formation template for the subsequent growth of SrTiO [Formula: see text]. We studied in detail the resulting microstructure and the local conducting and switching properties of the SrTiO [Formula: see text] thin films. We revealed that the Au nanoparticles floated to the SrTiO [Formula: see text] surface during growth, leaving behind a distorted thin film region in their vicinity. By employing conductive-tip atomic force microscopy, these distorted SrTiO [Formula: see text] regions are identified as sites of preferential resistive switching. These findings can be attributed to the enhanced oxygen exchange reaction at the surface in these defective regions.