Electrical conduction and resistive switching in cow milk-based devices prepared using the spin-coat method

Electronic devices made of organic materials are critical for sustainable technology and the reduction of electronic waste. In this paper, we report on the resistive switching (RS) behavior of an organic full cream cow milk-based film placed between two electrodes. The switching properties of the milk film were investigated for use in RS memory (ReRAM), a new type of memory device. Two devices were created: one with electrodes made of silver (Ag) and indium doped tin oxide (ITO) (Ag/cow milk/ITO) and the other with electrodes made of Ag and tungsten (W) (Ag/cow milk/W). The study is unique in two ways: (1) the use of the spin coat method, which allowed us to deposit 15 nm thin milk films, and (2) the use of ITO and W bottom electrodes, which allowed us to compare the results. Our findings show that both ITO- and W-based devices exhibit RS properties with “S-type” bipolar behavior. The ITO-based device exhibited switching at 0.77 V and an ION/IOFF ratio of ∼2. The memory behavior of this device lasted ∼7 write/erase cycles, indicating the possibility of nonvolatile memory application. In contrast, the switching in the W-based device was characterized by low (0.1 V) voltage, and it lasted for only one cycle. Increasing the compliance current to 0.5 A improved the ON/OFF ratio to 102, but the device could not repeat the same hysteresis behavior. The analysis of the conduction and switching mechanisms in both devices revealed a conductive bridge mechanism attributed to the metalization of metal ions naturally found in milk. Overall, our findings show that the thickness of the milk film influences both conduction and switching mechanisms and that the (milk film)/ITO and (milk film)/W interfaces influence the conductance of full cream cow milk-based ReRAM devices.