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Local resistive switching in a contact between the probe of an atomic force microscope (AFM) and ZrO2(Y) films (including with a Ta2O5 sublayer) on conducting substrates has been studied. Switching has been initiated by triangular voltage pulses on which an rf sine-wave signal was imposed. The dependence of the difference between currents through the AFM probe in low- and high-ohmic states of dielectric films on the frequency of the rf sine-wave signal exhibits maxima at characteristic frequencies corresponding to hops of O2– ions between oxygen vacancies in ZrO2(Y) and Ta2O5 at 300 K. This effect is related to the resonance activation of O2– ion migration over oxygen vacancies by an external rf electric field.

It is shown that self-forming GeSi nanoislands built into the dielectric–semiconductor interface in the Si(001)-based metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) structures with the SiOx and ZrO2(Y) dielectric layers obtained by magnetron sputtering initiate bipolar resistive switching without preliminary electroforming. The I–V characteristics and electrical parameters of the MOS structures in the high- and low-resistance states have been investigated. The change in the charge incorporated in the dielectric at the dielectric–semiconductor interface during resistive switching has been established, which is related to the formation and destruction of conducting filaments. The optically stimulated switching of the MOS structures with the ZrO2(Y) dielectric layer from the high- to low-resistance state has been observed, which is caused by an increase in the conductivity of the space charge region in the Si substrate due to the interband optical absorption in Si leading to the voltage redistribution between Si and ZrO2(Y). A difference between the shapes of the low-signal photovoltage spectra of the MOS structures in the spectral region of the Si intrinsic photosensitivity in the high- and low-resistance states related to the leakage of photoexcited carriers from Si into a metal electrode through filaments has been found.

The specific features of resistive switching, which was initiated by triangular pulses with a high-frequency sine signal imposed on them, in experimental memristor prototypes based on thin films of yttria-stabilized zirconia were examined. It was found that memristors switched by these complex signals have lower switching voltage, higher ratio of currents in low- and high-resistance states, and better long-term current stability than memristors switched by triangular pulses without the sine signal. This improvement of switching parameters is associated with resonance activation of migration of oxygen ions via vacancies in the alternating external electric field.

The electrophysical characteristics of a multilayer memristive Au/Ta/ZrO2(Y)/TaOx/TiN structure have been studied. Electron and ion electret effects due to charge carrier trapping and ion migration polarization in the dielectric have been discovered. The influence of traps on electroforming processes and resistive switching has been established. The values of activation energy and ion and trap concentrations have been determined. The effect of resistive switching stabilization has been found, which is associated with the specific bilayer structure of TaOx and self-forming tantalum nanoclusters. The nanoclusters serve as electric field concentrators in the course of electroforming and subsequent resistive switching.

We report on a comparative study of resistive switching in the memristors based on ZrO2(Y) films and on ZrO2(Y)/Ta2O5 bilayer stacks by triangle voltage pulses with superimposed high-frequency sinusoidal signal. The dependencies of the current difference in the low resistance state and in the high resistance one on the sinusoidal signal frequency for the ZrO2(Y)-based memristor and for the ZrO2(Y)/Ta2O5-stack based one manifested one and two maxima, respectively attributed to the resonant activation of the migration of the oxygen ions via the oxygen vacancies by the alternating external electric field in ZrO2(Y) and in Ta2O5.

The Ag/Ge/Si(001) stacks with threading dislocations growing through the Ge epitaxial layers (ELs) manifested bipolar resistive switching (RS) between two metastable resistance states. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) provided a direct evidenced the RS mechanism to consist in the electrodiffusion of Ag+ ions along the dislocations in the Ge ELs. Also, STEM revealed multiple RS cycling to result in the metallization of the Ge matrix around the dislocations and in the accumulation of Ag in the misfit dislocation layer near Ge/Si interface. Both above phenomena may lead potentially to degradation of the RS performance.

Local resistive switching by complex nonstationary signals in zirconium-dioxide-stabilized films on conducting substrates has been studied by atomic-force microscopy with a conducting probe. Film resistance was switched by triangular voltage pulses on which a high-frequency sinusoidal signal was superimposed. It is found that the ratio of currents through the junction between the probe and film surface in high-resistance and low-resistance states increases after the superposition of a sinusoidal signal (as compared to switching by simple triangular pulses). An increase in the temporal stability of the current strength in these states was also found when switching with a sinusoidal signal. This effect is associated with resonant activation of oxygen ion migration over vacancies in an external ac electric field.

The peculiarities of resistive switching in capacitors with yttria-stabilized hafnia layers were studied. The characteristics of current transport in the initial state and after electroforming and resistive switching at different temperatures were examined. The parameters of a small-signal equivalent circuit of a capacitor were determined for switching into low- and high-resistance states. These parameters suggest that the resistance of filaments changes after each successive switching. This provides an opportunity to use such measurements to determine the nature of resistive switching and verify the reproducibility of its parameters. The contribution of electron traps to switching was revealed. Ion migration polarization was observed at temperatures above 500 K, and the activation energy of ion migration and the ion concentration were determined. The effect of resistive switching under the influence of temperature was observed and interpreted for the first time.

The local transverse photoconductivity of ultrathin (~4 nm) ZrO2(Y) films with embedded single-layer arrays of Au nanoparticles (~2 nm in diameter) is studied by conductive atomic force microscopy. The ZrO2(Y) films with Au nanoparticles are formed on glass substrates with transparent conductive indium-tin-oxide sublayers using layer-by-layer magnetron deposition followed by annealing. The peaks observed in the optical absorption spectra of the samples at the wavelength λ ≈ 660 nm are attributed to collective plasmon resonance in dense arrays of Au nanoparticles. The photocurrent between the microscope probe and the indium-tin-oxide sublayer is measured during photoexcitation of the contact between the probe and the sample surface through the transparent substrate by the radiation of a semiconductor laser diode at the plasmon-resonance wavelength. The increase in current through the probe of the atomic force microscope under photoexcitation is attributed to the photon-assisted emission of electrons from the Au nanoparticle into the conduction band of ZrO2(Y) in a strong electric field applied between the probe and the indium-tin-oxide sublayer under plasmon resonance conditions.

The stochastic resonance phenomenon has been studied experimentally and theoretically for a state-of-art metal-oxide memristive device based on yttria-stabilized zirconium dioxide and tantalum pentoxide, which exhibits bipolar filamentary resistive switching of anionic type. The effect of white Gaussian noise superimposed on the sub-threshold sinusoidal driving signal is analyzed through the time series statistics of the resistive switching parameters, the spectral response to a periodic perturbation and the signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the nonlinear system. The stabilized resistive switching and the increased memristance response are revealed in the observed regularities at an optimal noise intensity corresponding to the stochastic resonance phenomenon and interpreted using a stochastic memristor model taking into account an external noise source added to the control voltage. The obtained results clearly show that noise and fluctuations can play a constructive role in nonlinear memristive systems far from equilibrium.

Resistive switching in thin (5–10 nm) ZrO2(Y) films with Au nanoparticles is studied via tunneling atomic force microscopy. Regions of negative differential resistance are observed in the current–voltage curves of individual filaments formed under the probe potential. Their emergence is attributed to resonant electron tunneling through size-quantized electronic states with a discrete energy spectrum in Au nanoparticles embedded in the filaments.

Ag/Ge/Si heterostructures with threading dislocations in Ge layer can exhibit resistive switching (RS) in two regimes: (i) bipolar and (ii) volatile unipolar. In both regimes, these structures possess stable states with the ratio of currents in the low-resistance state (LRS) and high-resistance state (HRS) within 1.5–2.7. The volatile unipolar switching can be determined by capturing charge carriers on deep levels related to misfit dislocations at the Ge/Si interface, whereas the bipolar switching is related to the drift of Ag+ ions via threading dislocations.

The resonant activation of resistance switching (RS) of a memristor based on an yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) film with embedded Au nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated. The switching was made by triangular pulses with high frequency (HF) sinusoid added. A non-monotonous dependence a ratio of the electric current through the memristor in the low resistive state to the current in the high resistive one on the HF sinusoid frequency was found. The effect was explained by a finite electron tunneling time between the Pt electrode and Au NPs. This conclusion was supported by measuring a dependence of HF memristor capacitance on the probing signal frequency.

The effect of the material of the metal plates (Au, Ta, W) and exposure to a high-power blue laser on the memristive characteristics of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) capacitors with a Si3N4 film 6 nm thick fabricated on the basis of n+-Si is studied. It is shown that bipolar switching by the current appears only in capacitors with Au. The causes of the absence of bipolar switching in capacitors with Ta and W are explained. The switching of capacitors with Ta by the current and light and the photomemory effect are detected. It is shown that, despite the high doping level of the semiconductor substrate, it decreases the MIS memristor response rate due to a high density of surface states localized at the Si3N4/n+-Si interface. However, illumination allows a significant increase in the response rate due to a decrease in the semiconductor resistivity. The surface state densities are determined. To improve the frequency characteristics of MIS memristors, it is necessary to achieve a low surface state density.

The effect of optical illumination on the resistive switching in ultrathin (~4 nm) ZrO2(Y) films with embedded single-layer Au nanoparticle arrays 2–3 nm in size is studied via tunneling atomic force microscopy. The ZrO2(Y) films with Au nanoparticles are grown by layerwise magnetron deposition onto glass substrates with a conductive indium-tin-oxide sublayer, followed by annealing at 450°C. An increase in hysteresis due to bipolar resistive switching in the ZrO2(Y) films is observed on the cyclic current–voltage curves of the microscope probe-to-sample contact. The effect is found to manifest itself in a dense Au nanoparticle array (~660 nm) when the contact area is photoexcited through a transparent substrate exposed to the radiation of a semiconductor laser at the plasmon-resonance wavelength. The effect is attributed to the photon-assisted field emission of electrons from Au nanoparticles to the conduction band of ZrO2(Y) in a strong electric field between the microscope probe and the indium-tin-oxide substrate under plasmon-resonance conditions.

Design and training principles have been proposed and tested for an artificial neural network based on metal-oxide thin-film nanostructures possessing bipolar resistive switching (memristive) effect. Experimental electronic circuit of neural network is implemented as a double-layer perceptron with a weight matrix composed of 32 memristive devices. The network training algorithm takes into account technological variations of the parameters of memristive devices. Despite the limited size of weight matrix the developed neural network model is scalable and capable of solving nonlinear classification problems. The learning and functionality of the network are demonstrated by using its computer model for the classification of activity propagation directions in simulated neuronal culture.

Resistive switching and adaptive behavior of resistive state in response to electrical stimulation has been studied for the silicon oxide based memristive devices subjected to electroforming in the conditions of current compliance in comparison with the analogous memristive devices after electroforming without any current limitation. The limitation of current and temperature during electroforming affects the parameters of growing conductive filament ensembles and reduction-oxidation reactions resulting in a gradual character and a wide dynamic range of resistance change important for neuromorphic applications.

Nanosized films of stabilized zirconia with Au nanoparticles formed by implanting Au ions are studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The effect of irradiation of films with Au ions and postimplantation annealing on the distribution of chemical elements and zirconium- containing ZrO x compounds over the depth of the films is studied. Based on the data on the dimensional shift of the Au 4 f photoelectron line, the average value of the nanoparticle size is determined.

Bipolar resistive switching of the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitor-like structures with the inert Au top electrode and Si3N4 dielectric nanolayer (6 nm thick) has been investigated. The effect of highly doped n+-Si substrate is revealed related to the changes in semiconductor space charge region on the small-signal parameters of parallel and serial equivalent circuit models measured in the high- and low-resistive capacitor states, as well as under laser illumination. The increase in conductivity of semiconductor capacitor plate significantly reduces the charging and discharging times of capacitor-like structures.

We report on the application of Contact Scanning Capacitance Microscopy (CSCM) to trace the growth of an individual Ni filament in a ZrO2(Y) film on a Ni sublayer (together with a conductive Atomic Force Microscope probe composing a nanometer-sized virtual memristor). An increasing of the filament length in the course of electro-forming results in an increasing of the capacitance between the probe and the sample, which can be detected by CSCM technique. This way, the filament growth can be monitored in real time in situ.

We report on an experimental study of resistive switching (RS) of individual dislocations in Ag/Ge/Si(001) memristors by combined grazing incidence ion sputtering of the Ag electrodes and application of Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy to provide an electrical contact to individual Ag-filled dislocations in the Ge layer. Two types of RS were observed corresponding to two different RS mechanisms: (i) drift of Ag+ ions inside the dislocation cores and (ii) RedOx reactions in residual GeO x in the etch pits on the Ge layer surface.

Planar waveguides based on tungsten-tellurite glasses doped with erbium and ytterbium ions are created. Planar structures with a superimposed strip based on tungsten tellurite glasses were formed by methods of Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering and lithography. Waveguide operation up to 1.53 mkm was observed. Optical losses at a wavelength of 1.53 mkm in the test channel waveguides with a width of 15 μm are ~ 0.44 dB/cm. The dependence of the optical signal enhancement at a wavelength of 1.53 mkm on the pump power was investigated for different lengths of waveguide.

A physical model of synaptically coupled neuron-like generators interacting via a memristive device has been presented. The model simulates the synaptic transmission of pulsed signals between brain neurons. The action on the receiving generator has been performed via a memristive device that demonstrates adaptive behavior. It has been established that the proposed coupling channel provides the forced synchronization with the parameters depending on the memristive device sensitivity. Synchronization modes 1: 1 and 2: 1 have been experimentally observed.

We report on the results of the experimental investigations of the local resistive switching (RS) in the contact of a conductive atomic force microscope (CAFM) probe to a nanometer-thick yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) film on a conductive substrate under a Gaussian noise voltage applied between the probe and the substrate. The virtual memristor was found to switch randomly between the low resistance state and the high resistance state as a random telegraph signal (RTS). The potential profile of the virtual memristor calculated from its response to the Gaussian white noise shows two local minima, which is peculiar of a bistable nonlinear system.

It has been experimentally established that the time of switching by triangular pulses in Ti—TiN–ZrO2(Y)–Zr–Au memristor structures from the state of low resistance to the state of high resistance is inversely proportional to the voltage rise rate, i.e., the bias current through the memristor structure. A mechanism for the influence of a bias current on the switching time of the structure has been proposed.

The structure of the electron current through an individual filament of a nanometer-sized virtual memristor consisting of a contact of a conductive atomic force microscope probe to an yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin film deposited on a conductive substrate is investigated. Usually, such investigation is performed by the analysis of the waveform of this current with the aim to extract the random telegraph noise (RTN). Here, we suggest a new indirect method, which is based on the measurement of the spectrum of the low-frequency flicker noise in this current without extracting the RTN, taking into account the geometrical parameters of the filament. We propose that the flicker noise is caused by the motion (drift/diffusion) of oxygen ions via oxygen vacancies within and around the filament. This allows us to estimate the root mean square magnitude i0 of the current jumps, which are caused by random jumps of oxygen ions, and the number M of these ions. This is fundamental for understanding the elementary mechanisms of electron current flowing through the filament and resistive switching in YSZ–based memristor devices.

Local resistive switching (RS) in ZrO2(Y) films on conductive substrates has been studied using Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (CAFM). Switching was performed by triangle voltage pulses with superimposed a high-frequency (HF) sinusoidal signal applied to the contact of the CAFM probe to the ZrO2(Y) film (together constituting a nanometer-sized virtual memristor). Earlier, the enhancement of the RS performance has been observed when the HF signal was superimposed onto the switching pulses. The effect was attributed to the resonant activation of the migration of oxygen ions via oxygen vacancies by an external alternating electric field. In the present study, this assumption was confirmed by measuring the frequency dependence of the difference between the probe currents in the low-resistance and high-resistance states with a maximum at about 5 kHz. This frequency corresponds to the characteristic one of the jumps of oxygen ions onto adjacent oxygen vacancies in ZrO2(Y) at 300 K. The experimental results were compared with the results of simulation based on the Chua model of an ideal memristor.

It is shown that the formation of Au nanoparticles at the insulator–silicon interface in structures with a high density of surface states results in a shift of the Fermi-level pinning energy at this interface towards the valence-band ceiling in silicon and in increasing the surface-state density at energies close to the Fermi level. In this case, a band with a peak at 0.85 eV arises on the photosensivity curves of the capacitor photovoltage, which is explained by the photoemission of electrons from the formed Au-nanoparticle electron states near the valence-band ceiling in silicon.

The properties of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structures based on n-GaAs in which silicon oxide and yttria-stabilized zirconia and hafnia are used as the insulator containing InAs quantum dots, which are embedded at the insulator/n-GaAs interface, are investigated. The structures manifest the resistive switching and synaptic behavior.

The principles of ion-beam simulation of the effect of fast (fission) neutrons and high-energy protons based on medium-energy ion irradiation have been developed for the Au/Zr/SiO2/TiN/Ti capacitor-like memristive nanostructures demonstrating the repeatable resistive switching phenomenon. By using the Monte-Carlo approach, the irradiation fluences of H+, Si+ and O+ ions at the energy of 150 keV are determined that provide the ionization and displacement damage equivalent to the cases of space protons (15 MeV) and fission neutrons (1 MeV) irradiation. No significant change in the resistive switching parameters is observed under ion irradiation up to the fluences corresponding to the extreme fluence of 1017 cm−2 of space protons or fission neutrons. The high-level radiation tolerance of the memristive nanostructures is experimentally confirmed with the application of 15 MeV proton irradiation and is interpreted as related to the local nature of conducting filaments and high concentration of the initial field-induced defects in oxide film.

The change of the immitance of the metal–insulator–metal memristive structures based on SiOx, which is observed during electroforming and resistive switching, confirms the formation of conducting channels (filaments) in the insulator during forming and their rupture upon a transition of the structure to a highresistance state. The observed switching of the differential capacitance and conductivity synchronously with the switching of current (resistance) can substantially extend the functional applications of memristive devices of this type.

We have studied Au/SiOx/TiN/Ti memristive structures obtained by magnetron sputtering, which exhibit a reproducible resistive switching effect. The influence of the thickness and stoichiometry of SiOx layer and the area of Au electrode on the parameters of switching has been analyzed. The obtained results show evidence in favor of the filament model of resistive switching in SiOx films.

The Ag/Ge/Si(001) stacks with threading dislocations in Ge layer demonstrating the I-V curves typical for the bipolar resistive switching were investigated. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and electron beam induced current measurement confirmed the resistive switching mechanism to be the formation of conductive filaments consisting of the Ag atoms across the entire Ge layer via the electric-field driven transport of Ag+ ions along the threading dislocations.

We report on a comparative study of resistive switching in the memristors based on ZrO2(Y) films and on ZrO2(Y)/Ta2O5 bilayer stacks by triangle voltage pulses with superimposed high-frequency sinusoidal signal. The dependencies of the current difference in the low resistance state and in the high resistance one on the sinusoidal signal frequency for the ZrO2(Y)-based memristor and for the ZrO2(Y)/Ta2O5-stack based one manifested one and two maxima, respectively attributed to the resonant activation of the migration of the oxygen ions via the oxygen vacancies by the alternating external electric field in ZrO2(Y) and in Ta2O5.

Resistive switching (RS) is studied in a memristor based on a ZrO2(Y)/Ta2O5 stack under a white Gaussian noise voltage signal. We have found that the memristor switches between the low resistance state and the high resistance state in a random telegraphic signal (RTS) mode. The effective potential profile of the memristor shows from two to three local minima and depends on the input noise parameters and the memristor operation. These observations indicate the multiplicative character of the noise on the dynamical behavior of the memristor, that is the noise perceived by the memristor depends on the state of the system and its electrical properties are influenced by the noise signal. The detected effects manifest the fundamental intrinsic properties of the memristor as a multistable nonlinear system.

The low-frequency noise in a nanometer-sized virtual memristor consisting of a contact of a conductive atomic force microscope (CAFM) probe to an yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin film deposited on a conductive substrate is investigated. YSZ is a promising material for the memristor application since it is featured by high oxygen ion mobility, and the oxygen vacancy concentration in YSZ can be controlled by varying the molar fraction of the stabilizing yttrium oxide. Due to the low diameter of the CAFM probe contact to the YSZ film (similar to 10nm), we are able to measure the electric current flowing through an individual filament both in the low resistive state (LRS) and in the high resistive state (HRS) of the memristor. Probability density functions (Pdfs) and spectra of the CAFM probe current in both LRS and HRS are measured. The noise in the HRS is found to be featured by nearly the same Pdf and spectrum as the inner noise of the experimental setup. In the LRS, a flicker noise 1/f(gamma) with gamma approximate to 1.3 is observed in the low-frequency band (up to 8kHz), which is attributed to the motion (drift/diffusion) of oxygen ions via oxygen vacancies in the filament. Activation energies of oxygen ion motion determined from the flicker noise spectra are distributed in the range of [0.52; 0.68] eV at 300K. Knowing these values is of key importance for understanding the mechanisms of the resistive switching in YSZ based memristors as well as for the numerical simulations of memristor devices.

Layers of Au nanoparticles (NPs) were formed in films of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) on fusedquartz substrates by layer-by-layer magnetron deposition with subsequent annealing. The obtained structures were studied by applying high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to transverse sections and using optical absorption spectroscopy. TEM studies revealed the formation of Au NPs with a diameter of 2?3 nm concentrated in a thin layer within the YSZ film. The optical absorption spectra of the studied samples exhibited peaks of resonance plasmon absorption in Au NPs with a maximum wavelength of ~650 nm. The dependences of geometric and structural parameters of Au NP arrays (size, density, thickness of the Au NP layer, etc.) on the formation conditions were determined, and the regimes of fabrication of dense Au NP arrays that allow for collective plasmon excitations were identified.

The effect of irradiation with H+ and Ne+ ions with an energy of 150 keV on memristive Au/SiO x /TiN/Ti structures, which were obtained by magnetron sputtering and exhibited a reproducible resistive switching effect, is studied. It is demonstrated that the low and high resistance states remain unchanged up to a dose of 1 × 1016 cm–2 in the case of irradiation with H+ ions and a dose of ~3 × 1015 cm–2 under irradiation with Ne+ ions. The obtained results demonstrate the high tolerance of parameters of the studied memristive structures to both ionizing radiation and displacement damage.

High-resolution transmission microscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy have been used to examine how metallic nanocrystals (NCs) are formed in the course of implantation of Au ions into thin films of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and subsequent thermal annealing. It was found that, under certain implantation conditions, Au4Zr NCs are formed in addition to Au NCs in the YSZ matrix. The conditions in which Au4Zr NCs are formed in the course of implantation and decompose under the subsequent annealing were determined.

The new alkoxysilane 2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4-diethoxy-1-aza-3-oxa-4-silacycloheptane behaves as a bi- or trifunctional compound, depending on the hydrolysis conditions. In case of a deficiency of water, a mixture of cyclosiloxanes with cyclic substituents at silicon atoms is obtained, while in case of an excess of water, a crosslinked polysiloxane with hydroxyl-containing substituents is obtained. On the basis of the compositions 2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4-diethoxy-1-aza-3-oxa-4-silacycloheptane and 3-aminopro-pyltriethoxysilane, under mild conditions in the presence of atmospheric moisture, transparent solid polysi-loxane coatings with very low refractive indexes for nonporous polymers are formed.

We have studied light-induced resistive switching in metal–insulator–semiconductor structures based on silicon covered with a tunneling-thin SiO2 layer and nanometer-thick layer of antimony. The role of an insulator was played by yttria-stabilized zirconia.

We report on the investigation of the resistive switching (RS) in the ultrathin (≈5 nm in thickness) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films with single layers of Au nanoparticles (NPs) by conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM). Besides the butterfly-type hysteresis loops in the current-voltage (I-V) curves of the contact of the CAFM probe to the investigated film surface corresponding to the bipolar RS, the negative differential resistance (NDR) has been observed in the I-V curves of the AFM probe contact to the YSZ films with Au NPs in the conductive (“ON”) state. The NDR has been related to the resonant tunneling of electrons through the size-quantized energy states in the ultrafine (1 to 2 nm in diameter) Au NPs built in the conductive filaments in the YSZ films.

We report the investigations of the ion migration polarization in the yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films in the Metal-Oxide-Metal (MOM) and Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) stacks due to the drift of the oxygen vacancies under the external bias voltage applied between the electrodes. The parameters characterizing the drift of the oxygen vacancies in YSZ such as the ion drift activation energy, mobile ion concentration, and the drift mobility have been determined in the temperature range 300–500 K. These data are important for deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the electroforming and resistive switching in the YSZ-based MOM and MOS stacks, which are promising for the Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) and other memristor device applications.

The effect of resistive switching in the yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films on Si substrates has been studied by Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (CAFM). The resistive switching of the YSZ films from the low conductive state to the highly conductive one has been found to be associated with the increasing of the noise with broad frequency spectrum related to the redistribution of the oxygen vacancies in YSZ. The electrical oscillations in oscillation loop connected in series to the CAFM probe, the sample, and the bias source related to the excitation of the oscillation loop by the noise in the probe-to-sample contact film have been observed. The effect discovered is promising for application in the memristor devices of new generation.

A new method of microchannel formation in silicone rubber cured by heat in the presence of a platinum catalyst was developed using whiskers of p-aminobenzoic acid. Four types of whiskers with lateral dimensions of 10–20, 50–70, 200–300, and 500–600 µm and lengths of 2–3, 5–10, 10–20, and 20–30 mm, respectively, were grown from hot aqueous solutions. A new method for the manufacture of elastic siloxane rubber samples penetrated by open channels with the size corresponding to the size of whiskers is presented. The materials were studied by optical and atomic force microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, gas chromatography—mass spectrometry, and porosimetry.

Using as an example metal-insulator-semiconductor structures based on GaAs with stabilized (by yttrium oxide) zirconium dioxide, which show the effect of resistive-switching random-access memory, the possibility is considered of controlling phenomena associated with the forming process in the insulator and on the insulator-semiconductor interface, as well as in the semiconductor, by measuring the response of the semiconductor.