We suggest a possible realization of a solid-state memory capacitive (memcapacitive) system. Our approach relies on the slow polarization rate of a medium between plates of a regular capacitor. To achieve this goal, we consider a multilayer structure embedded in a capacitor. The multilayer structure is formed by metallic layers separated by an insulator so that nonlinear electronic transport (tunneling) between the layers can occur. The suggested memcapacitor shows hysteretic charge-voltage and capacitance-voltage curves, and both negative and diverging capacitance within certain ranges of the field. This proposal can be easily realized experimentally and indicates the possibility of information storage in memcapacitive systems.

• Received 24 February 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.195430