Switching and Electrical Memory Effect in the Colossal Permittivity Material La2NiO4+δ

La2NiO4+delta ceramic samples were manufactured by using a solid state reaction method. The crystalline structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of the material were recorded and analyzed. A dielectric resonance, which is thought to be associated with the multiferroic behavior of the material, was observed at frequencies below 1 MHz. The I/V characteristics were measured on a capacitor-like structure, which exhibited resistance and capacitance switching when opposite voltage pulses of about 2.5 volts with a duration time of 500 ms were applied. The maximum ratios of the changes in the resistance and the capacitance were estimated to be of about 50 % and 35 % at room temperature, respectively. The electrical switching was reversible, with resistive states remaining for a rather long time. The observed capacitance switching and memory effects provide evidence for the presence of charge transfer and accumulation in the material.