Memristive effects in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x devices with transistor-like structure

Cuprate superconductors are highly sensitive to disorder and oxygen stoichiometry; even minute variations of those parameters drastically change their electronic properties. In this work, we exploit this characteristic to engineer a memristive device based on the high-T-C superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO), in which local changes of the oxygen content and induced disorder are harnessed to produce memory effects. These effects are electrically triggered in a three-terminal device whose structure is reminiscent of a transistor, consisting of a YBCO channel and an Al gate. The Al/YBCO interface, which controls the gate conductance, displays a large, bipolar, reversible switching across a continuum of non-volatile conductance states spanning over two decades. This phenomenon is controlled by the gate voltage magnitude and is caused by the oxygen exchange between YBCO and Al. Concomitantly, the channel shows a gradual, irreversible superconductor-to-insulator transition that retains a memory of the power dissipated in the device and can be explained by induced bulk disorder. The observed effects, and the understanding of the interplay between the underlying mechanisms, constitute interesting ingredients for the design and realization of novel memristors and switches for superconducting electronics.