Stabilizing Schottky-to-Ohmic Switching in HfO-Based Ferroelectric Films via Electrode Design.

The discovery of ferroelectric phases in HfO-based films has reignited interest in ferroelectrics and their application in resistive switching (RS) devices. This study investigates the pivotal role of electrodes in facilitating the Schottky-to-Ohmic transition (SOT) observed in devices consisting of ultrathin epitaxial ferroelectric HfYO (YHO) films deposited on LaSrMnO-buffered Nb-doped SrTiO (NbSTO|LSMO) with Ti|Au top electrodes. These findings indicate combined filamentary RS and ferroelectric switching occurs in devices with designed electrodes, having an ON/OFF ratio of over 100 during about 10 cycles.

Progress of emerging non-volatile memory technologies in industry.

This prospective and performance summary provides a view on the state of the art of emerging non-volatile memory (eNVM) in the semiconductor industry. The overarching aim is to inform academic researchers of the status of these technologies in industry, so as to help direct the right academic research questions for future materials and device development. eNVM already have a strong foothold in the semiconductor industry with the main target of replacing embedded flash memory, and soon possibly DRAM and SRAM, i.

Depth-Resolved X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Evidence of Intrinsic Polar States in HfO-Based Ferroelectrics.

The discovery of ferroelectricity in nanoscale hafnia-based oxide films has spurred interest in understanding their emergent properties. Investigation focuses on the size-dependent polarization behavior, which is sensitive to content and movement of oxygen vacancies. Though polarization switching and electrochemical reactions is shown to co-occur, their relationship remains unclear.

Sodium-Controlled Interfacial Resistive Switching in Thin Film Niobium Oxide for Neuromorphic Applications.

A double layer 2-terminal device is employed to show Na-controlled interfacial resistive switching and neuromorphic behavior. The bilayer is based on interfacing biocompatible NaNbO and NbO, which allows the reversible uptake of Na in the NbO layer. We demonstrate voltage-controlled interfacial barrier tuning via Na transfer, enabling conductivity modulation and spike-amplitude- and spike-timing-dependent plasticity.

Reconfigurable Resistive Switching in VO/LaSrMnO/AlO (0001) Memristive Devices for Neuromorphic Computing.

The coexistence of nonvolatile and volatile switching modes in a single memristive device provides flexibility to emulate both neuronal and synaptic functions in the brain. Furthermore, such a device structure may eliminate the need for additional circuit elements such as transistor-based selectors, enabling low-power consumption and high-density device integration in fully memristive spiking neural networks. In this work, we report dual resistive switching (RS) modes in VO/LaSrMnO (LSMO) bilayer memristive devices.

Hydrogen-Driven Low-Temperature Topotactic Transition in Nanocomb Cobaltite for Ultralow Power Ionic-Magnetic Coupled Applications.

We reversibly control ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic ordering in an insulating ground state by annealing tensile-strained LaCoO films in hydrogen. This ionic-magnetic coupling occurs due to the hydrogen-driven topotactic transition between perovskite LaCoO and brownmillerite LaCoO at a lower temperature (125-200 °C) and within a shorter time (3-10 min) than the oxygen-driven effect (500 °C, tens of hours). The X-ray and optical spectroscopic analyses reveal that the transition results from hydrogen-driven filling of correlated electrons in the Co 3d-orbitals, which successively releases oxygen by destabilizing the CoO octahedra into CoO tetrahedra.

Growth of emergent simple pseudo-binary ferroelectrics and their potential in neuromorphic computing devices.

Ferroelectric memory devices such as ferroelectric memristors, ferroelectric tunnel junctions, and field-effect transistors are considered among the most promising candidates for neuromorphic computing devices. The promise arises from their defect-independent switching mechanism, low energy consumption and high power efficiency, and important properties being aimed for are reliable switching at high speed, excellent endurance, retention, and compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Binary or doped binary materials have emerged over conventional complex-composition ferroelectrics as an optimum solution, particularly in terms of CMOS compatibility.

High-performance and self-powered visible light photodetector using multiple coupled synergetic effects.

In this work, we demonstrate, for the first time, that coupling together the pyroelectric effect, the photovoltaic effect and the plasmonic effect is a novel method to significantly enhance the performance of self-powered photodetectors in the visible region. Photodetectors based on tri-layered heterojunction of n-Si/p-SnO/n-ZnO through the inclusion of silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) at the SnO/ZnO interface were fabricated. The photo-response of the device, with excitation from a chopped 650 nm wavelength laser, was carefully investigated, and it was shown that the photodetector performance is enhanced the most with the inclusion of spheroidal Ag NPs with ∼70 nm diameter.

La-doped BaSnO3 for electromagnetic shielding transparent conductors.

In this work, we find that La-doped BaSnO (BLSO) is shown to be a promising electromagnetic shielding transparent conductor. While films grown on industrially practical optoelectronic MgAlO substrates have higher sheet resistance by three orders of magnitude than in previous reports, we show how to recover the sheet resistance close to the single-crystal level by use of an MgO template layer which enables high quality (001)-oriented BLSO epitaxial film growth on (001) MgAlO. There is a positive correlation between crystallinity and conductivity; high crystallinity minimizes scattering of free electrons.

Self-Assembled Au Nanoelectrodes: Enabling Low-Threshold-Voltage HfO-Based Artificial Neurons.

Filamentary-type resistive switching devices, such as conductive bridge random-access memory and valence change memory, have diverse applications in memory and neuromorphic computing. However, the randomness in filament formation poses challenges to device reliability and uniformity. To overcome this issue, various defect engineering methods have been explored, including doping, metal nanoparticle embedding, and extended defect utilization.

Comprehensive study of Raman optical response of typical substrates for thin-film growth under 633 nm and 785 nm laser excitation.

Raman spectroscopy is one of the most efficient and non-destructive techniques for characterizing materials. However, it is challenging to analyze thin films using Raman spectroscopy since the substrates beneath the thin film often obscure its optical response. Here, we evaluate the suitability of fourteen commonly employed single-crystal substrates for Raman spectroscopy of thin films using 633 nm and 785 nm laser excitation systems.

Magnetic Stress-Driven Metal-Insulator Transition in Strongly Correlated Antiferromagnetic CrN.

Traditionally, the Coulomb repulsion or Peierls instability causes the metal-insulator phase transitions in strongly correlated quantum materials. In comparison, magnetic stress is predicted to drive the metal-insulator transition in materials exhibiting strong spin-lattice coupling. However, this mechanism lacks experimental validation and an in-depth understanding.

Multi-level resistive switching in hafnium-oxide-based devices for neuromorphic computing.

In the growing area of neuromorphic and in-memory computing, there are multiple reviews available. Most of them cover a broad range of topics, which naturally comes at the cost of details in specific areas. Here, we address the specific area of multi-level resistive switching in hafnium-oxide-based devices for neuromorphic applications and summarize the progress of the most recent years.

Stable Supercapacity of Binder-Free TiO(B) Epitaxial Electrodes for All-Solid-State Nanobatteries.

Owing to its pseudocapacitive, unidimensional, rapid ion channels, TiO(B) is a promising material for application to battery electrodes. In this study, we align these channels by epitaxially growing TiO(B) films with the assistance of an isostructural VO(B) template layer. In a liquid electrolyte, binder-free TiO(B) epitaxial electrodes exhibit a supercapacity near the theoretical value of 335 mA h g and an excellent charge-discharge reproducibility for ≥200 cycles, which outperform those of other TiO(B) nanostructures.

Bandlike Transport and Charge-Carrier Dynamics in BiOI Films.

Following the emergence of lead halide perovskites (LHPs) as materials for efficient solar cells, research has progressed to explore stable, abundant, and nontoxic alternatives. However, the performance of such lead-free perovskite-inspired materials (PIMs) still lags significantly behind that of their LHP counterparts. For bismuth-based PIMs, one significant reason is a frequently observed ultrafast charge-carrier localization (or self-trapping), which imposes a fundamental limit on long-range mobility.

Thin-film design of amorphous hafnium oxide nanocomposites enabling strong interfacial resistive switching uniformity.

A design concept of phase-separated amorphous nanocomposite thin films is presented that realizes interfacial resistive switching (RS) in hafnium oxide-based devices. The films are formed by incorporating an average of 7% Ba into hafnium oxide during pulsed laser deposition at temperatures ≤400°C. The added Ba prevents the films from crystallizing and leads to ∼20-nm-thin films consisting of an amorphous HfO host matrix interspersed with ∼2-nm-wide, ∼5-to-10-nm-pitch Ba-rich amorphous nanocolumns penetrating approximately two-thirds through the films.

Emergent and robust ferromagnetic-insulating state in highly strained ferroelastic LaCoO thin films.

Transition metal oxides are promising candidates for the next generation of spintronic devices due to their fascinating properties that can be effectively engineered by strain, defects, and microstructure. An excellent example can be found in ferroelastic LaCoO with paramagnetism in bulk. In contrast, unexpected ferromagnetism is observed in tensile-strained LaCoO films, however, its origin remains controversial.

Local symmetry breaking drives picosecond spin domain formation in polycrystalline halide perovskite films.

Photoinduced spin-charge interconversion in semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling could provide a route to optically addressable spintronics without the use of external magnetic fields. However, in structurally disordered polycrystalline semiconductors, which are being widely explored for device applications, the presence and role of spin-associated charge currents remains unclear. Here, using femtosecond circular-polarization-resolved pump-probe microscopy on polycrystalline halide perovskite thin films, we observe the photoinduced ultrafast formation of spin domains on the micrometre scale formed through lateral spin currents.

Layered BiOI single crystals capable of detecting low dose rates of X-rays.

Detecting low dose rates of X-rays is critical for making safer radiology instruments, but is limited by the absorber materials available. Here, we develop bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) single crystals into effective X-ray detectors. BiOI features complex lattice dynamics, owing to the ionic character of the lattice and weak van der Waals interactions between layers.

Ferroelectric Orthorhombic ZrO Thin Films Achieved Through Nanosecond Laser Annealing.

A new approach for the stabilization of the ferroelectric orthorhombic ZrO films is demonstrated through nanosecond laser annealing (NLA) of as-deposited Si/SiO /W(14 nm)/ZrO (8 nm)/W(22 nm), grown by ion beam sputtering at low temperatures. The NLA process optimization is guided by COMSOL multiphysics simulations. The films annealed under the optimized conditions reveal the presence of the orthorhombic phase, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy.

Interface-related phenomena in epitaxial complex oxide ferroics across different thin film platforms: opportunities and challenges.

Interfaces in complex oxides give rise to fascinating new physical phenomena arising from the interconnected spin, lattice, charge and orbital degrees of freedom. Most commonly, interfaces are engineered in epitaxial superlattice films. Of growing interest also are epitaxial vertically aligned nanocomposite films where interfaces form by self-assembly.