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Ferroelectric-field-effect-enhanced electroresistance in metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions

Nature Materials volume 12, pages 617–621 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs), composed of two metal electrodes separated by an ultrathin ferroelectric barrier, have attracted much attention as promising candidates for non-volatile resistive memories. Theoretical1,2,3,4 and experimental5,6,7,8,9 works have revealed that the tunnelling resistance switching in FTJs originates mainly from a ferroelectric modulation on the barrier height. However, in these devices, modulation on the barrier width is very limited, although the tunnelling transmittance depends on it exponentially as well10. Here we propose a novel tunnelling heterostructure by replacing one of the metal electrodes in a normal FTJ with a heavily doped semiconductor. In these metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor FTJs, not only the height but also the width of the barrier can be electrically modulated as a result of a ferroelectric field effect11,12, leading to a greatly enhanced tunnelling electroresistance. This idea is implemented in Pt/BaTiO3/Nb:SrTiO3 heterostructures, in which an ON/OFF conductance ratio above 104, about one to two orders greater than those reported in normal FTJs, can be achieved at room temperature6,9,13,14,15,16,17,18. The giant tunnelling electroresistance, reliable switching reproducibility and long data retention observed in these metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor FTJs suggest their great potential in non-destructive readout non-volatile memories.

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Figure 1: Resistive switching mechanism.
Figure 2: Morphology and ferroelectricity of ultrathin BTO and correlation between polarization reversal and resistance switching.
Figure 3: TER of Pt/BTO/Nb:STO FTJs at room temperature.

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Acknowledgements

This work was jointly sponsored by State Key Program for Basic Research of China (2009CB929503), Natural Science Foundation of China (51222206 and 91022001), and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK2012016). Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is greatly acknowledged for providing the beam time and technical assistance. The authors would like to thank J. Yao and D. Beck from Asylum Research for valuable advice on PFM measurements.

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  1. Zheng Wen

    Present address: Present address: Ningxia Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China

    Zheng Wen, Chen Li, Di Wu, Aidong Li & Naiben Ming

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China

    Zheng Wen, Chen Li, Di Wu, Aidong Li & Naiben Ming

  3. National Center of Microstructures and Quantum Manipulation, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China

    Zheng Wen, Chen Li, Di Wu, Aidong Li & Naiben Ming

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  1. Zheng Wen
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  2. Chen Li
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  3. Di Wu
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  4. Aidong Li
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Contributions

D.W. conceived this work and conducted the calculations. D.W. and Z.W. designed the experiment. Z.W. fabricated the devices and performed the measurements. Z.W., C.L., D.W., A.L. and N.M. analysed the data. Z.W. and D.W. wrote the manuscript. D.W. and N.M. directed the project. All authors discussed the data and contributed to the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Di Wu.

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Wen, Z., Li, C., Wu, D. et al. Ferroelectric-field-effect-enhanced electroresistance in metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions. Nature Mater 12, 617–621 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3649

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