Electrophysical Properties of Polycrystalline C12A7:e− Electride

This article demonstrates the possibility of creating memory devices based on polycrystalline mayenite. In the course of the study, structural characterization (XRD, TEM) of ceramic samples of mayenite was carried out, as well as a study of the spectral (THz range) and electrophysical characteristics. Materials obtained by calcination at high (1360–1450 °C) temperatures in an inert argon atmosphere differ in the degree of substitution of oxygen anions O2− for electrons, as indicated by the data on the unit cell parameters and dielectric constant coefficients in the range of 0.2–1.3 THz, as well as differences in the conducting properties of the samples under study by more than five orders of magnitude, from the state of the dielectric for C12A7:O2− to the conducting (metal-like) material in the state of the C12A7:e− electride. Measurements of the current–voltage characteristics of ceramic C12A7:e− showed the presence of memristive states previously detected by other authors only in the case of single crystals. The study of the stability of switching between states in terms of resistance showed that the values of currents for states with high and low resistance remain constant up to 180 switching cycles, which is two times higher than the known literature data on the stability of similar prototypes of devices. It is shown that such samples can operate in a switch mode with nonlinear resistance in the range of applied voltages from –1.3 to +1.3 V.