Pulse width controlled resistivity switching at room temperature in Bi0.8Sr0.2MnO3

We report pulsed as well as direct current/voltage induced electroresistance in Bi0.8Sr0.2MnO3 at room temperature. It is shown that bi-level and multi-level resistivity switching can be induced by a sequence of pulses of varying pulse width at fixed voltage amplitude. Resistivity increases abruptly (= 55 % at 300 K) upon reducing pulse width from 100 ms to 25 ms for a fixed electric field (E = 2 V/cm2) of 200 ms pulse period. The resistivity switching is accompanied by a periodic change in temperature which alone can not explain the magnitude of the resistivity change.