Low-Energy-Consumption Three-Valued Memory Device Inspired by Solid-State Batteries.

We report the creation of a low-energy-consumption three-valued memory device based on the switching of open-circuit voltages. This device consists of a stack of Li, LiPO solid electrolyte, and Ni electrode films. We observed reversible voltage switching between high, intermediate, and low open-circuit voltages.

Atomic structures and oxygen dynamics of CeO2 grain boundaries.

Material performance is significantly governed by grain boundaries (GBs), a typical crystal defects inside, which often exhibit unique properties due to the structural and chemical inhomogeneity. Here, it is reported direct atomic scale evidence that oxygen vacancies formed in the GBs can modify the local surface oxygen dynamics in CeO2, a key material for fuel cells. The atomic structures and oxygen vacancy concentrations in individual GBs are obtained by electron microscopy and theoretical calculations at atomic scale.

Spatially-resolved mapping of history-dependent coupled electrochemical and electronical behaviors of electroresistive NiO.

Bias-induced oxygen ion dynamics underpins a broad spectrum of electroresistive and memristive phenomena in oxide materials. Although widely studied by device-level and local voltage-current spectroscopies, the relationship between electroresistive phenomena, local electrochemical behaviors, and microstructures remains elusive. Here, the interplay between history-dependent electronic transport and electrochemical phenomena in a NiO single crystalline thin film with a number of well-defined defect types is explored on the nanometer scale using an atomic force microscopy-based technique.

Ferromagnetic dislocations in antiferromagnetic NiO.

Crystal lattice defects often degrade device functionality, but engineering these defects may have value in future electronic and magnetic device applications. For example, dislocations--one-dimensional lattice defects with locally distinct atomic-scale structures--exhibit unique and localized electrical properties and can be used as a template for producing conducting nanowires in insulating crystals. It has also been predicted that spin-polarized current may flow along dislocations in topological insulators.