Electric-Field-Driven Dual Vacancies Evolution in Ultrathin Nanosheets Realizing Reversible Semiconductor to Half-Metal Transition

• DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b10212
• Publication Date: 2015-11-04T20:25:25Z
• Authors: Mengjie Lyu; Youwen Liu; Yuduo Zhi; Chong Xiao; Bingchuan Gu; Xuemin Hua; Shaojuan Fan; Yue Lin; Wei Bai; Wei Tong; Youming Zou; Bicai Pan; Bangjiao Ye; Yi Xie
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; 0104 chemical sciences

Fabricating a flexible room-temperature ferromagnetic resistive-switching random access memory (RRAM) device is of fundamental importance to integrate nonvolatile and spintronics both in theory practice for modern information technology has the potential bring about revolutionary new foldable information-storage devices. Here, we show that relatively low operating voltage (+1.4 V/-1.5 V, corresponding electric field around 20,000 V/cm) drives dual vacancies evolution ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets at room temperature, which causes reversible transition between semiconductor half-metal, accompanyied by an abrupt conductivity change up 10(3) times, exhibiting ferromagnetism two resistance states. Positron annihilation spectroscopy electron spin resonance results Sn/O evolve isolated Sn vacancy under field, accounting switching behavior nanosheets; on other hand, different defect types correspond conduction natures, realizing half-metal. Our result represents crucial step create half-metal with flexibility energy consumption. The as-obtained low-resistance state broadens application basis defects also opens avenue exploring mechanisms finding half-metals spintronics.