Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites
Abstract Ferroelectrics are of practical interest for non‐volatile data storage due to their reorientable, crystallographically defined polarization. Yet efforts to integrate conventional ferroelectrics into ultrathin memories have been frustrated by film‐thickness limitations, which impede polariza...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Advanced Electronic Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400567 |
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| author | Steven M. Baksa Simon Gelin Seda Oturak R. Jackson Spurling Alireza Sepehrinezhad Leonard Jacques Susan E. Trolier‐McKinstry Adri C. T. van Duin Jon‐Paul Maria Andrew M. Rappe Ismaila Dabo |
| author_facet | Steven M. Baksa Simon Gelin Seda Oturak R. Jackson Spurling Alireza Sepehrinezhad Leonard Jacques Susan E. Trolier‐McKinstry Adri C. T. van Duin Jon‐Paul Maria Andrew M. Rappe Ismaila Dabo |
| author_sort | Steven M. Baksa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ferroelectrics are of practical interest for non‐volatile data storage due to their reorientable, crystallographically defined polarization. Yet efforts to integrate conventional ferroelectrics into ultrathin memories have been frustrated by film‐thickness limitations, which impede polarization reversal under low applied voltage. Wurtzite materials, including magnesium‐substituted zinc oxide (Zn,Mg)O, have been shown to exhibit scalable ferroelectricity as thin films. In this work, the origins of ferroelectricity in (Zn,Mg)O are explained, showing that large strain fluctuations emerge locally in (Zn,Mg)O and can reduce local barriers to ferroelectric switching by more than 40%. Concurrent experimental and computational evidence of these effects are provided by demonstrating polarization switching in ZnO/(Zn,Mg)O/ZnO heterostructures featuring built‐in interfacial strain gradients. These results open up an avenue to develop scalable ferroelectrics by controlling strain fluctuations atomistically. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3ef57c9d0aef4e94b51f3f805a1c2aee |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2199-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Electronic Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-3ef57c9d0aef4e94b51f3f805a1c2aee2025-08-20T03:13:26ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Electronic Materials2199-160X2025-04-01115n/an/a10.1002/aelm.202400567Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in WurtzitesSteven M. Baksa0Simon Gelin1Seda Oturak2R. Jackson Spurling3Alireza Sepehrinezhad4Leonard Jacques5Susan E. Trolier‐McKinstry6Adri C. T. van Duin7Jon‐Paul Maria8Andrew M. Rappe9Ismaila Dabo10Department of Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern University Evanston IL 60208 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Engineering Science and Mechanics Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park PA 16802 USADepartment of Chemistry University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA 19104 USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering and Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA 15213 USAAbstract Ferroelectrics are of practical interest for non‐volatile data storage due to their reorientable, crystallographically defined polarization. Yet efforts to integrate conventional ferroelectrics into ultrathin memories have been frustrated by film‐thickness limitations, which impede polarization reversal under low applied voltage. Wurtzite materials, including magnesium‐substituted zinc oxide (Zn,Mg)O, have been shown to exhibit scalable ferroelectricity as thin films. In this work, the origins of ferroelectricity in (Zn,Mg)O are explained, showing that large strain fluctuations emerge locally in (Zn,Mg)O and can reduce local barriers to ferroelectric switching by more than 40%. Concurrent experimental and computational evidence of these effects are provided by demonstrating polarization switching in ZnO/(Zn,Mg)O/ZnO heterostructures featuring built‐in interfacial strain gradients. These results open up an avenue to develop scalable ferroelectrics by controlling strain fluctuations atomistically.https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400567device scalingenergy efficiencyferroelectricsheterostructures |
| spellingShingle | Steven M. Baksa Simon Gelin Seda Oturak R. Jackson Spurling Alireza Sepehrinezhad Leonard Jacques Susan E. Trolier‐McKinstry Adri C. T. van Duin Jon‐Paul Maria Andrew M. Rappe Ismaila Dabo Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites Advanced Electronic Materials device scaling energy efficiency ferroelectrics heterostructures |
| title | Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites |
| title_full | Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites |
| title_fullStr | Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites |
| title_short | Strain Fluctuations Unlock Ferroelectricity in Wurtzites |
| title_sort | strain fluctuations unlock ferroelectricity in wurtzites |
| topic | device scaling energy efficiency ferroelectrics heterostructures |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400567 |
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