Abstract
The emergence of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric properties in the semiconductor industry's most prominent high-k dielectrics, HfO2 and ZrO2, is leading to technology developments unanticipated a decade ago. Yet the failure to clearly distinguish ferroelectric from antiferroelectric behavior is impeding progress. Band-excitation piezoresponse force microscopy and molecular dynamics are used to elucidate the nanoscale electric field-induced phase transitions present in ZrO2-based antiferroelectrics. Antiferroelectric ZrO2 is clearly distinguished from a closely resembling pinched La-doped HfO2 ferroelectric. Crystalline grains in the range of 3 – 20 nm are imaged independently undergoing reversible electric field induced phase transitions. The electrically accessible nanoscale phase transitions discovered in this study open up an unprecedented paradigm for the development of new nanoelectronic devices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2303636 |
| Journal | Advanced Functional Materials |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 41 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 9 2023 |
Funding
The authors would like to acknowledge Sabine Neumayer and Pratyush Buragohain for helpful discussions on piezoresponse force microscopy. P.L., B.X., and R.G. were funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)—Project No. 430054035 and 433647091. R.G. was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)—Project No. 458372836. This work was financially supported out of the state budget approved by the delegates of the Saxon State Parliament. Piezoresponse force microscopy measurements were supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a nonexclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for the United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( https://www.energy.gov/downloads/doe‐public‐access‐plan ). The authors would like to acknowledge Sabine Neumayer and Pratyush Buragohain for helpful discussions on piezoresponse force microscopy. P.L., B.X., and R.G. were funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)—Project No. 430054035 and 433647091. R.G. was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)—Project No. 458372836. This work was financially supported out of the state budget approved by the delegates of the Saxon State Parliament. Piezoresponse force microscopy measurements were supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for the United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (https://www.energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
Keywords
- antiferroelectrics
- phase transitions
- piezoelectrics
- piezoresponse force microscopy
- zirconia