Huandong Chen1,Batyr Ilyas2,Boyang Zhao1,Emre Ergecen2,Guodong Ren3,Bryan Chakoumakos4,Simon Teat5,Rohan Mishra3,Nuh Gedik2,Jayakanth Ravichandran1
University of Southern California1,Massachusetts Institute of Technology2,Washington University in St. Louis3,Oak Ridge National Laboratory4,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory5
Huandong Chen1,Batyr Ilyas2,Boyang Zhao1,Emre Ergecen2,Guodong Ren3,Bryan Chakoumakos4,Simon Teat5,Rohan Mishra3,Nuh Gedik2,Jayakanth Ravichandran1
University of Southern California1,Massachusetts Institute of Technology2,Washington University in St. Louis3,Oak Ridge National Laboratory4,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory5
Superconducting, metal-to-insulator, and paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transitions often occur in condensed matter systems with electronic and lattice instabilities. These phase change materials and their transitions have emerged as a promising platform for next-generation computing technologies such as quantum computing, neuromorphic computing, and energy-efficient memory and storage<sup>1-2</sup>. BaTiS<sub>3</sub> belongs to a ternary transition metal chalcogenide family with hexagonal symmetry<sup>3</sup>. For many years this material has been considered a trivial small bandgap semiconductor mainly due to the nominally unoccupied Ti 3<i>d</i> orbitals<sup>4</sup>. Here, we report the observation of a series of electronic phase transitions in single crystals of BaTiS<sub>3</sub> from electrical transport measurements. Two different phase transitions are identified from abrupt hysteric jumps in electrical resistance at 150-190 K (Transition I) and 245-255 K (Transition II) respectively, complemented by other characterizations such as synchrotron X-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopies, and DFT calculations. We also demonstrate reversible resistive switching with negative differential resistance (NDR) for Transition II, and a memristive switching between multiple metastable states within Transition I, both of which are key device ingredients for emerging neuromorphic computing circuits. Our study identifies a novel electron-lattice instability that leads to a series of electronic phase transitions in quasi-1D hexagonal chalcogenide with a strong potential for next-generation electronic applications.<br/><br/>1. Liu, M.<i> et al.</i> Terahertz-field-induced insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide metamaterial. <i>Nature</i> <b>487</b>, 345-348, doi:10.1038/nature11231 (2012).<br/>2. Chanthbouala, A.<i> et al.</i> A ferroelectric memristor. <i>Nat Mater</i> <b>11</b>, 860-864, doi:10.1038/nmat3415 (2012).<br/>3. Niu, S.<i> et al.</i> Giant optical anisotropy in a quasi-one-dimensional crystal. <i>Nature Photonics</i> <b>12</b>, 392-396 (2018).<br/>4. Massenet, O.,<i> et al.</i> Magnetic and electrical properties of BaVS<sub>3</sub> and BaV<sub>x</sub>Ti<sub>1-x</sub>S<sub>3</sub>. <i>Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solid</i> <b>40</b>, 573-577 (1979).