Resistive switching in silver/polystyrene/silver nano-gap devices

In this paper, we demonstrate reversible resistive switching in silver/polystyrene/silver nano-gap devices comprising Ag nano-strips separated by a nanoscale gap and encapsulated in polystyrene (PS). These devices show highly reversible switching behavior with high on-off ratios (>10³) during cyclic switching tests over many cycles. We also observe evolution of the gap after extensive testing, which is consistent with metal filament formation as the switching mechanism in these Ag/PS/Ag nano-gap devices. The reversible electrical bistability demonstrated here was accomplished with an electrically inactive polymer, thereby extending the range of polymers suitable for organic digital memory applications.