Electrical switching properties of Ag₂S/Cu₃P under light and heat excitation

In this paper, we prepared and investigated the electrical switching behaviors of Cu₃P/Ag₂S heterojunction in the absence/presence of light/heat excitation. The structure exhibited bipolar memristor characteristics. The resistive switching mechanism is due to the formation of Ag conductive filaments and phase transition in Cu₃P. We found that the resistance ratio (R_OFF/R_ON) increased by a factor of 1.4/1.8 after light/heat excitation. The underlying mechanism was due to the photoelectric effect/Seebeck effect. Our results are helpful for the understanding of the resistive switching performance of Cu₃P/Ag₂S junctions, providing valuable insights into the factors influencing resistive switching performance and a clue for the enhancement of the memristor performance.