Nonvolatile Memristive Effect in Few-Layer CrI₃ Driven by Electrostatic Gating

The potential of memristive devices for applications in nonvolatile memory and neuromorphic computing has sparked considerable interest, particularly in exploring memristive effects in two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials. However, the progress in developing nonvolatile, magnetic field-free memristive devices using 2D magnets has been limited. In this work, we report an electrostatic-gating-induced nonvolatile memristive effect in CrI₃-based tunnel junctions. The few-layer CrI₃-based tunnel junction manifests notable hysteresis in its tunneling resistance as a function of gate voltage. We further engineered a nonvolatile memristor using the CrI₃ tunneling junction with low writing power and at zero magnetic field. We show that the hysteretic transport observed is not a result of trivial effects or inherent magnetic properties of CrI₃. We propose a potential association between the memristive effect and the newly predicted ferroelectricity in CrI₃ via gating-induced Jahn-Teller distortion. Our work illuminates the potential of 2D magnets in developing next-generation advanced computing technologies.