Coaction and distinguishment of converse piezoelectric and field effects in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3/SrTiO3/0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.32PbTiO3 heterostructures

The volatile and nonvolatile electroresistances related to the converse piezoelectric induced strain and ferroelectric field effects are improved in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3/SrTiO3/0.68Pb( Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.32PbTiO(3) heterostructures by inserting a SrTiO3 buffer layer. Due to the coaction of the strain and field effects, the tri-resistance states are observed, and the relative contributions of the two effects on the resistance changes can be quantitatively distinguished by a programmable control of the polarization electric fields in ON and OFF modes, respectively. Our results indicate that the well-designed heterostructure exhibits potential for application in multifunctional devices. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.