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Towards two-dimensional van der Waals ferroelectrics

Nature Materials volume 22, pages 542–552 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

The discovery of ferroelectricity in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials has brought important functionalities to the 2D materials family, and may trigger a revolution in next-generation nanoelectronics and spintronics. In this Perspective, we briefly review recent progress in the field of 2D vdW ferroelectrics, focusing on the mechanisms that drive spontaneous polarization in 2D systems, unique properties brought about by the reduced lattice dimensionality and promising applications of 2D vdW ferroelectrics. We finish with an outlook for challenges that need to be addressed and our view on possible future research directions.

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Fig. 1: Different mechanisms of spontaneous polarization in 2D vdW ferroelectrics.
Fig. 2: Effects of reduced lattice dimensionality on ferroelectricity in 2D systems.
Fig. 3: Prototype devices based on 2D vdW ferroelectrics.

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Acknowledgements

J.W. acknowledges supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12074164), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory Program (2021B1212040001) from the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, and the startup grant from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China. C.W. acknowledges the support from the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Grant No. RCBS20210706092215023). L.Y. acknowledges financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 12074278, the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institution of China under Grant No. 20KJA140001, Priority Academic Program Development (PAPD) of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions and Jiangsu Specially-Appointed Professors Program. D.C. was supported by Programmable Quantum Materials, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES), award DE-SC0019443.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, China

    Chuanshou Wang & Junling Wang

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Thin Films, School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China

    Lu You

  3. Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    David Cobden

  4. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Oxide Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Junling Wang

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  1. Chuanshou Wang
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Wang, C., You, L., Cobden, D. et al. Towards two-dimensional van der Waals ferroelectrics. Nat. Mater. 22, 542–552 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01422-y

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