A nonvolatile memory device with very low power consumption based on the switching of a standard electrode potential

Abstract

We prepared a nonvolatile memory device that could be reversibly switched between a high and a low open-circuit voltage (Voc) regime. The device is composed of a solid electrolyte Li3PO4 film sandwiched between metal Li and Au electrodes: a Li/Li3PO4/Au heterostructure, which was fabricated at room temperature on a glass substrate. The bistable states at Voc ∼ 0.7 and ∼0.3 V could be reversibly switched by applying an external voltage of 2.0 and 0.18 V, respectively. The formation and deformation of an ultrathin Au-Li alloy at the Li3PO4/Au electrode interface were the origin of the reversible switching.