Conference Dates
March 6-11, 2016
Abstract
Field-induced electronic conduction is widely recognised in (a) materials whose resistance is dominated by interfacial Schottky barriers and (b) thin films that exhibit high field-induced filamentary conduction. A third category of (low) field-sensitive conduction occurs in bulk oxide ceramics that show enhanced hole conduction if they are acceptor-doped, but reduced n-type conduction if they are donor-doped. Examples in these two categories are acceptor-doped titanate perovskites [1] and rutile that is slightly oxygen-deficient [2]. More recently, reversible, field-induced electronic conduction has been demonstrated in yttria-doped zirconia ceramics [3] and a reversible, insulator-metal transition in Ca-doped BiFeO3 ceramics [4].
A survey of these phenomena and their characteristics will be presented and possible mechanisms, involving redox activity of oxygen in the oxide ceramic structures, discussed. Possible implications in a range of fields, including dielectric breakdown, lithium battery cathodes, memristive switching and insulator-metal transitions will be highlighted for discussion.
Recommended Citation
[1] H Beltran et al, J Amer Ceram Soc., 94 (2011) 2951 [2] Y Liu and AR West, Appl Phys Lett., 103 (2013) 263508 [3] N Maso and AR West, Chem Mater., 27 (2015) 1552 [4] N Maso et al, Phys Chem Chem Phys., 16 (2014) 19408