Hysteresis mechanism in current-voltage characteristics of ZrOx films prepared by the sol-gel method

In the study, ZrOx films were deposited on substrates by the sol-gel technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and conductivity measurements were used to characterize the films. The authors found that the displacement current of oxygen-rich ZrOx films was smaller than that of oxygen-deficient ZrOx films. According to the experimental results, the authors suggested that donor-like oxygen-vacancy related and crystallographic defects within the ZrOx film controlled carrier flow and resulted in hysteresis-type current-voltage characteristics of indium tin oxide/ZrOx/Au devices.