Switching it up: New mechanisms revealed in wurtzite-type ferroelectrics

Wurtzite-type ferroelectrics have drawn increasing attention due to the promise of better performance and integration than traditional oxide ferroelectrics with semiconductors such as Si, SiC, and III-V compounds. However, wurtzite-type ferroelectrics generally require enormous electric fields, appr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2024-05, Vol.10 (20), p.eadl0848-eadl0848
Main Authors: Lee, Cheng-Wei, Yazawa, Keisuke, Zakutayev, Andriy, Brennecka, Geoff L, Gorai, Prashun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical Physics
ferroelectrics
MATERIALS SCIENCE
MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
Physical and Materials Sciences
polarization
SciAdv r-articles
wurtzite
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Wurtzite-type ferroelectrics have drawn increasing attention due to the promise of better performance and integration than traditional oxide ferroelectrics with semiconductors such as Si, SiC, and III-V compounds. However, wurtzite-type ferroelectrics generally require enormous electric fields, approaching breakdown, to reverse their polarization. The underlying switching mechanism(s), especially for multinary compounds and alloys, remains elusive. Here, we examine the switching behaviors in Al Sc N alloys and wurtzite-type multinary candidate compounds we recently computationally identified. We find that switching in these tetrahedrally coordinated materials proceeds via a variety of nonpolar intermediate structures and that switching barriers are dominated by the more-electronegative cations. For Al Sc N alloys, we find that the switching pathway changes from a collective mechanism to a lower-barrier mechanism enabled by inversion of individual tetrahedra with increased Sc composition. Our findings provide insights for future engineering and realization of wurtzite-type materials and open a door to understanding domain motion.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adl0848