Abstract
Ferroelectric materials promise exceptional attributes including low power dissipation, fast operational speeds, enhanced endurance, and superior retention to revolutionize information technology. However, the practical application of ferroelectric-semiconductor memory devices has been significantly challenged by the incompatibility of traditional perovskite oxide ferroelectrics with metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. Recent discoveries of ferroelectricity in binary oxides such as Zn1-xMgxO and Hf1-xZrxO have been a focal point of research in ferroelectric information technology. This work investigates the ferroelectric properties of Zn1-xMgxO utilizing automated band excitation piezoresponse force microscopy. This findings reveal the coexistence of two ferroelectric subsystems within Zn1-xMgxO. A “fringing-ridge mechanism” of polarization switching is proposed that is characterized by initial lateral expansion of nucleation without significant propagation in depth, contradicting the conventional domain growth process observed in ferroelectrics. This unique polarization dynamics in Zn1-xMgxO suggests a new understanding of ferroelectric behavior, contributing to both the fundamental science of ferroelectrics and their application in information technology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2404925 |
| Journal | Advanced Materials |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 39 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 26 2024 |
Funding
This effort (materials synthesis, PFM measurements) was supported as part of the center for 3D Ferroelectric Microelectronics (3DFeM), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE\u2010SC0021118. The PFM, APT, and ToF\u2010SIMS were supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which was a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ToF\u2010SIMS characterization was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which was a DOE Office of Science User Facility, and using instrumentation within ORNL's Materials Characterization Core provided by UT\u2010Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE\u2010AC05\u201000OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. Sergei V. Kalinin acknowledges support from the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) user facility which was a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility, project no. CNMS2023\u2010A\u201001923. The work of E.A.E. and A.N.M. are funded by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (projects \u201CSilicon\u2010compatible ferroelectric nanocomposites for electronics and sensors\u201D, grant application 2023.03/0127 and project \u201CManyfold\u2010degenerated metastable states of spontaneous polarization in nanoferroics: theory, experiment and perspectives for digital nanoelectronics\u201D, grant application 2023.03/0132). The authors would like to thank James Burns for assistance in performing APT sample preparation and running the APT experiments. The authors would like to acknowledge helpful discussion with Sabine M. Neumayer.
Keywords
- automated experiments
- ferroelectrics
- piezoresponse force microscopy
- wurtzite