Electronic Processes in Ferroelectrics

A special issue of Electronic Materials (ISSN 2673-3978).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 20708

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Microelectronics Research Unit, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
2. Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Na Slovance 2, 18221 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: perovskite oxides; epitaxial films; oxide electronics; ferroelectrics, relaxors, piezoelectrics; metal-insulator oxides; pulsed laser deposition; dielectric spectroscopy; optical spectroscopy

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Guest Editor
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Interests: ferroelectric; dielectric; multiferroic; pyroelectric; heterostructures; field effect transistors; photovoltaic
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ferroelectricity was discovered more than 100 years ago. Since then, ferroelectric materials have been intensively studied due to their unique properties (reversible polarization under applied electric field, presence of piezoelectric, pyroelectric, photovoltaic, and thermoelectric effects, nonlinear optical properties) that make them very attractive for a large variety of applications from domestic burglar alarms up to nonvolatile memories, micro(nano)-electro-mechanic systems, or microwave devices.

There are many ferroelectric materials with potential use for applications, for example, TGS, KDP, oxides with perovskite or tungsten structure, among others. Ferroelectricity was recently reported in doped simple metal oxides such as HfO2 or ZnO. Furthermore, the simultaneous presence of ferroelectricity and magnetism in the same material has led to establishment of a new class of compounds called multiferroics. Ferroelectrics can be also combined with materials having different properties (dielectric, semiconductor, superconductor, magnetic) resulting in a virtually unlimited number of heterostructures with interesting new functionalities.

In all cases, it is important to study the electronic properties of ferroelectrics and related structures and to find ways to control these properties for various applications. This Special Issue addresses experimental and theoretical investigations of diverse aspects of the electronic behavior in ferroelectric materials and related structures. These aspects include but are not limited to charge transport, polarization switching, compensation of the depolarization field, negative capacitance, resistive switching, memristor and memcapacitor behavior, optical behavior, etc., and their relation to doping, defects, and interfaces (electrode interfaces, interfaces in heterostructures). Authors are invited to submit research articles relevant to the topic addressed by this Special Issue.

Dr. Marina Tyunina
Prof. Dr. Lucian Pintilie
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • ferroelectric materials
  • electronic properties
  • interfaces
  • charge transport

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1945 KiB  
Article
Indirect Evaluation of the Electrocaloric Effect in PbZrTiO3 (20/80)-Based Epitaxial Thin Film Structures
by Georgia A. Boni, Lucian D. Filip, Cristian Radu, Cristina Chirila, Iuliana Pasuk, Mihaela Botea, Ioana Pintilie and Lucian Pintilie
Electron. Mater. 2022, 3(4), 344-356; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronicmat3040028 - 1 Nov 2022
Viewed by 2292
Abstract
Electrocaloric effect is the adiabatic temperature change in a dielectric material when an electric field is applied or removed, and it can be considered as an alternative refrigeration method. Materials with ferroelectric order exhibit large temperature variations in the vicinity of a phase [...] Read more.
Electrocaloric effect is the adiabatic temperature change in a dielectric material when an electric field is applied or removed, and it can be considered as an alternative refrigeration method. Materials with ferroelectric order exhibit large temperature variations in the vicinity of a phase transition, while antiferroelectrics and relaxors may exhibit a negative electrocaloric effect. In this study, the temperature variation in polarization was investigated for epitaxial ferroelectric thin film structures based on PbZrTiO3 materials in simple or complex multilayered structures. We propose the intriguing possibility of a giant negative electrocaloric effect (ΔT = −3.7 K at room temperature and ΔT = −5.5 K at 370 K) in a simple epitaxial Pb(ZrTi)O3 capacitor. Furthermore, it was shown that abnormal temperature variation in polarization is dependent on the non-FE component introduced in a multilayered structure. No significant variation in polarization with temperature was obtained for PZT/STON multilayered structures around room temperature. However, for PZT/BST or PZT/Nb2O5 multilayers, an abnormal temperature variation in polarization was revealed, which was similar to a simple PZT layer. The giant and negative ∆T values were attributed to internal fields and defects formed due to the large depolarization fields when the high polarization of the FE component was not fully compensated either by the electrodes or by the interface with an insulator layer. The presented results make Pb(ZrTi)O3-based structures promising for cooling applications operating near room temperature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronic Processes in Ferroelectrics)
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12 pages, 1746 KiB  
Article
Lead-Free BiFeO3 Thin Film: Ferroelectric and Pyroelectric Properties
by Mihaela Botea, Cristina Chirila, Georgia Andra Boni, Iuliana Pasuk, Lucian Trupina, Ioana Pintilie, Luminiţa Mirela Hrib, Becherescu Nicu and Lucian Pintilie
Electron. Mater. 2022, 3(2), 173-184; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronicmat3020015 - 1 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4557
Abstract
The ferroelectric and pyroelectric properties of bismuth ferrite (BFO) epitaxial thin film have been investigated. The ferroelectric epitaxial thin layer has been deposited on strontium titanate (STO) (001) substrate by pulsed laser deposition, in a capacitor geometry using as top and bottom electrode [...] Read more.
The ferroelectric and pyroelectric properties of bismuth ferrite (BFO) epitaxial thin film have been investigated. The ferroelectric epitaxial thin layer has been deposited on strontium titanate (STO) (001) substrate by pulsed laser deposition, in a capacitor geometry using as top and bottom electrode a conductive oxide of strontium ruthenate (SRO). The structural characterizations performed by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy demonstrate the epitaxial character of the ferroelectric thin film. The macroscopic ferroelectric characterization of BFO revealed a rectangular shape of a polarization-voltage loop with a remnant polarization of 30 μC/c m2 and a coercive electric field of 633 KV/cm at room temperature. Due to low leakage current, the BFO capacitor structure could be totally pooled despite large coercive fields. A strong variation of polarization is obtained in 80–400 K range which determines a large pyroelectric coefficient of about 10−4 C/m2 K deduced both by an indirect and also by a direct method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronic Processes in Ferroelectrics)
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26 pages, 8670 KiB  
Article
Impact of the Ferroelectric Stack Lamination in Si Doped Hafnium Oxide (HSO) and Hafnium Zirconium Oxide (HZO) Based FeFETs: Toward High-Density Multi-Level Cell and Synaptic Storage
by Tarek Ali, Kati Kühnel, Ricardo Olivo, David Lehninger, Franz Müller, Maximilian Lederer, Matthias Rudolph, Sebastian Oehler, Konstantin Mertens, Raik Hoffmann, Katrin Zimmermann, Philipp Schramm, Joachim Metzger, Robert Binder, Malte Czernohorsky, Thomas Kämpfe, Konrad Seidel, Johannes Müller, Jan Van Houdt and Lukas M. Eng
Electron. Mater. 2021, 2(3), 344-369; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronicmat2030024 - 4 Aug 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5582
Abstract
A multi-level cell (MLC) operation as a 1–3 bit/cell of the FeFET emerging memory is reported by utilizing optimized Si doped hafnium oxide (HSO) and hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) based on ferroelectric laminates. An alumina interlayer was used to achieve the thickness independent [...] Read more.
A multi-level cell (MLC) operation as a 1–3 bit/cell of the FeFET emerging memory is reported by utilizing optimized Si doped hafnium oxide (HSO) and hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) based on ferroelectric laminates. An alumina interlayer was used to achieve the thickness independent of the HSO and HZO-based stack with optimal ferroelectric properties. Various split thicknesses of the HSO and HZO were explored with lamination to increase the FeFET maximum memory window (MW) for a practical MLC operation. A higher MW occurred as the ferroelectric stack thickness increased with lamination. The maximum MW (3.5 V) was obtained for the HZO-based laminate; the FeFETs demonstrated a switching speed (300 ns), 10 years MLC retention, and 104 MLC endurance. The transition from instant switching to increased MLC levels was realized by ferroelectric lamination. This indicated an increased film granularity and a reduced variability through the interruption of ferroelectric columnar grains. The 2–3 bit/cell MLC levels and maximum MW were studied in terms of the size-dependent variability to indicate the impact of the ferroelectric area scaling. The impact of an alumina interlayer on the ferroelectric phase is outlined for HSO in comparison to the HZO material. For the same ferroelectric stack thickness with lamination, a lower maximum MW, and a pronounced wakeup effect was observed in HSO laminate compared to the HZO laminate. Both wakeup effect and charge trapping were studied in the context of an MLC operation. The merits of ferroelectric stack lamination are considered for an optimal FeFET-based synaptic device operation. The impact of the pulsing scheme was studied to modulate the FeFET current to mimic the synaptic weight update in long-term synaptic potentiation/depression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronic Processes in Ferroelectrics)
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13 pages, 2550 KiB  
Article
Experimental Characterization of Ferroelectric Capacitor Circuits for the Realization of Simply Designed Electroceuticals
by Yves Olsommer and Frank R. Ihmig
Electron. Mater. 2021, 2(3), 299-311; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronicmat2030021 - 9 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3821
Abstract
Currently, a large number of neurostimulators are commercially available for the treatment of drug-resistant diseases and as an alternative to pharmaceuticals. According to the current state of the art, such highly engineered electroceuticals require bulky battery units and necessitate the use of leads [...] Read more.
Currently, a large number of neurostimulators are commercially available for the treatment of drug-resistant diseases and as an alternative to pharmaceuticals. According to the current state of the art, such highly engineered electroceuticals require bulky battery units and necessitate the use of leads and extensions to connect the implantable electronic device to the stimulation electrodes. The battery life and the use of wired electrodes constrain the long-term use of such implantable systems. Furthermore, for therapeutic success and patient safety, it is of utmost importance to keep the stimulation current within a safe range. In this paper, we propose an implantable system design that consists of a low number of passive electronic components and does not require a battery. The stimulation parameters and power are transmitted inductively using an extracorporeal wearable transmitter at frequencies below 1 MHz. A simple circuit design approach is presented to achieve a closed-loop control of the stimulation current by exploiting the nonlinear properties of ferroelectric materials in ceramic capacitors. Twenty circuit topologies of series- and/or parallel-connected ceramic capacitors are investigated by measurement and are modeled in Mathcad. An approximately linear increase in the stimulation current, a stabilization of the stimulation current and an unstable state of the system were observed. In contrast to previous results, specific plateau ranges of the stimulation current can be set by the investigated circuit topologies. For further investigations, the consistency of the proposed model needs to be improved for higher induced voltage ranges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronic Processes in Ferroelectrics)
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7 pages, 1271 KiB  
Article
Hysteresis-Free Piezoresponse in Thermally Strained Ferroelectric Barium Titanate Films
by Marina Tyunina, Jan Miksovsky, Tomas Kocourek and Alexandr Dejneka
Electron. Mater. 2021, 2(1), 17-23; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronicmat2010002 - 14 Jan 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2972
Abstract
Modern technology asks for thin films of sustainable piezoelectrics, whereas electro-mechanical properties of such films are poorly explored and controlled. Here, dynamic and quasi-static polarization, dielectric, and piezoelectric responses were experimentally studied in thin-film stacks of barium titanate sandwiched between electrodes and grown [...] Read more.
Modern technology asks for thin films of sustainable piezoelectrics, whereas electro-mechanical properties of such films are poorly explored and controlled. Here, dynamic and quasi-static polarization, dielectric, and piezoelectric responses were experimentally studied in thin-film stacks of barium titanate sandwiched between electrodes and grown on top of strontium titanate substrate. Accurate piezoelectric characterization was secured by using double beam interferometric technique. All out-of-plane responses were found to be hysteresis-free. Effective piezoelectric coefficient ~50 pm/V and linear strain-voltage characteristic were achieved. The observed behavior was ascribed to field induced out-of-plane polarization, whereas spontaneous polarization is in-plane due to in-plane tensile thermal strain. Hysteresis-free linear piezoresponse was anticipated in thin films on commercial silicon substrates, enabling large thermal strain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronic Processes in Ferroelectrics)
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