Electrical switching in metal-insulator-metal structures based on hydrated vanadium pentoxide

The phenomenon of switching in sandwich structures based on a V₂O₅ gel was studied. The switching effect with an S-shaped I–V characteristic is explained by a metal-insulator transition taking place in a vanadium dioxide phase formed in the initial gel film in the course of electroforming. The switching parameters (including the threshold voltage) were studied as functions of the temperature and pressure. It is shown that these switching devices can be used as highly effective microtransducers.