Bipolar resistive switching of Au/NiOx/Ni/Au heterostructure nanowires

Arrays of Au/NiOx/Ni/Au nanowires with a diameter of 50 nm were characterized by conductive atomic force microscopy, which was used to probe the electrical behavior of single nanowires still included in the array. A bipolar switching of the single Au/NiOx/Ni/Au nanowires is demonstrated and is attributed to the choice of an asymmetric couple of electrode materials and, possibly, to a non-uniform Ni oxidation profile inside the NiOx segments. An analysis of the conduction mechanism in a single nanowire is presented to further support this conclusion.