Elucidating dynamic conductive state changes in amorphous lithium lanthanum titanate for resistive switching devices

Exploration of novel resistive switching materials attracts attention to achieve neuromorphic computing that can surpass the limit of the current Von-Neumann computing for the time of Internet of Things (IoT). Battery materials priorly used to serve as an electrode or electrolyte have demonstrated metal-insulator transitions upon an electrical biasing due to resulting compositional change, which is desirable property for future resistive switching devices. For example, it has been suggested that solid-state electrolyte amorphous lithium lanthanum titanate (a-LLTO) changes in electronic conductivity depending on oxygen content. In this work, switching behavior of a-LLTO was investigated at both bulk- and nano-scale by employing a range of voltage sweep techniques, ultimately establishing a stable and optimal operating condition within the voltage window of − 3.5 V to 3.5 V. This voltage range effectively balances the desirable trait of a substantial resistance change by three orders of magnitude with the imperative avoidance of LLTO decomposition. Experiment and computation with different LLTO composition shows that LLTO has two distinct conductivity states due to Ti reduction. The distribution of these two states is discussed using simplified binary model, implying the conductive filament growth during low resistance state. Consequently, our study deepens understanding of LLTO electronic properties and encourages the interdisciplinary application of battery materials for resistive switching devices.