Microscopic Theory of Resistive Switching in Ordered Insulators: Electronic versus Thermal Mechanisms
Jiajun Li1, Camille Aron2,3, Gabriel Kotliar4
1Department of Physics, State University of New York at Buffalo , Buffalo, New York 14260, United States.
Abstract:
We investigate the dramatic switch of resistance in ordered correlated insulators when they are driven out of equilibrium by a strong voltage bias. Microscopic calculations on a driven-dissipative lattice of interacting electrons explain the main experimental features of resistive switching (RS), such as the hysteretic I-V curves and the formation of hot conductive filaments. The energy-resolved electron distribution at the RS reveals the underlying nonequilibrium electronic mechanism, namely Landau-Zener tunneling, and also justifies a thermal description in which the hot-electron temperature, estimated from the first moment of the distribution, matches the equilibrium-phase transition temperature. We discuss the tangled relationship between filament growth and negative differential resistance and the influence of crystallographic structure and disorder in the RS.
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