Nonvolatile Memristive Effect in Few-Layer CrI₃ Driven by Electrostatic Gating

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Memristive devices are crucial for nonvolatile memory and neuromorphic computing.
• Exploring memristive effects in two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials is a key research area.
• Developing nonvolatile, magnetic field-free memristive devices using 2D magnets remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report an electrostatic-gating-induced nonvolatile memristive effect in CrI3-based tunnel junctions.
• To engineer a magnetic field-free memristor with low writing power.
• To investigate the underlying mechanism of the observed memristive behavior.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of few-layer CrI3-based tunnel junctions.
• Electrical characterization of tunneling resistance as a function of gate voltage.
• Analysis of transport properties to rule out trivial effects and inherent magnetic properties.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated notable hysteresis in tunneling resistance of CrI3 tunnel junctions under electrostatic gating.
• Engineered a nonvolatile memristor operating at zero magnetic field with low writing power.
• Confirmed that the observed hysteretic transport is not due to trivial effects or CrI3's intrinsic magnetism.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully demonstrates an electrostatic-gating-induced nonvolatile memristive effect in CrI3.
• The findings suggest a potential link between the memristive effect and ferroelectricity in CrI3, possibly via gating-induced Jahn-Teller distortion.
• This work highlights the significant potential of 2D magnets for next-generation computing technologies.