Nonlinear and hysteretic electrical devices are needed for applications from circuit protection to next-generation computing. Widely-studied devices for resistive switching are based on mass transport, such as the drift of ions in an electric field, and on collective phenomena, such as insulator-metal transitions. We ask whether the large photoconductive response known in many semiconductors can be stimulated in the dark and harnessed to design electrical devices. We design and test devices based on photoconductive $\mathrm{Cd}\mathrm{S}$, and our results are consistent with the hypothesis that resistive switching arises from point defects that switch between deep- and shallow-donor configurations: defect-level switching. This electronic device design principle, photoconductivity without photons, leverages decades of research on photoconductivity and defect spectroscopy. It is easily generalized and will enable the rational design of nonlinear hysteretic devices for future electronics.

中文翻译：

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高度非线性和迟滞电子设备的缺陷级切换

从电路保护到下一代计算的应用都需要非线性和迟滞电子设备。电阻开关的广泛研究的器件是基于质量传输，例如电场中离子的漂移，以及基于集体现象，例如绝缘体-金属的跃迁。我们问是否可以在黑暗中激发许多半导体中已知的大光电导响应并将其用于设计电气设备。我们设计和测试基于光电导的设备$\mathrm{光盘}\mathrm{小号}$，我们的结果与以下假设相符：电阻切换是由在深和浅施主配置之间切换的点缺陷引起的：缺陷级切换。这种电子设备的设计原理，即无光子的光导性，利用了数十年来对光导性和缺陷光谱学的研究。它很容易推广，将能够为未来的电子产品合理设计非线性磁滞器件。