Direct observation of nanoscale dynamics of ferroelectric degradation

Qianwei Huang; Zibin Chen; Matthew J. Cabral; Feifei Wang; Shujun Zhang; Fei Li; Yulan Li; Simon P. Ringer; Haosu Luo; Yiu-Wing Mai; Xiaozhou Liao

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22355-1

Direct observation of nanoscale dynamics of ferroelectric degradation

Qianwei Huang
, Zibin Chen^*
, Matthew J. Cabral
, Feifei Wang
, Shujun Zhang
, Fei Li
, Yulan Li
, Simon P. Ringer
, Haosu Luo
, Yiu-Wing Mai
, Xiaozhou Liao^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

67 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Failure of polarization reversal, i.e., ferroelectric degradation, induced by cyclic electric loadings in ferroelectric materials, has been a long-standing challenge that negatively impacts the application of ferroelectrics in devices where reliability is critical. It is generally believed that space charges or injected charges dominate the ferroelectric degradation. However, the physics behind the phenomenon remains unclear. Here, using in-situ biasing transmission electron microscopy, we discover change of charge distribution in thin ferroelectrics during cyclic electric loadings. Charge accumulation at domain walls is the main reason of the formation of c domains, which are less responsive to the applied electric field. The rapid growth of the frozen c domains leads to the ferroelectric degradation. This finding gives insights into the nature of ferroelectric degradation in nanodevices, and reveals the role of the injected charges in polarization reversal. © 2021, The Author(s).

Original language	English
Article number	2095
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	12
Online published	7 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22355-1
Publication status	Published - 2021
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The authors acknowledge the facilities and the scientific and technical assistance of the Microscopy Australia node at the University of Sydney (Sydney Microscopy & Microanalysis). The authors also acknowledge the financial support from the Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP190101155.

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This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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title = "Direct observation of nanoscale dynamics of ferroelectric degradation",

abstract = "Failure of polarization reversal, i.e., ferroelectric degradation, induced by cyclic electric loadings in ferroelectric materials, has been a long-standing challenge that negatively impacts the application of ferroelectrics in devices where reliability is critical. It is generally believed that space charges or injected charges dominate the ferroelectric degradation. However, the physics behind the phenomenon remains unclear. Here, using in-situ biasing transmission electron microscopy, we discover change of charge distribution in thin ferroelectrics during cyclic electric loadings. Charge accumulation at domain walls is the main reason of the formation of c domains, which are less responsive to the applied electric field. The rapid growth of the frozen c domains leads to the ferroelectric degradation. This finding gives insights into the nature of ferroelectric degradation in nanodevices, and reveals the role of the injected charges in polarization reversal. {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",

author = "Qianwei Huang and Zibin Chen and Cabral, \{Matthew J.\} and Feifei Wang and Shujun Zhang and Fei Li and Yulan Li and Ringer, \{Simon P.\} and Haosu Luo and Yiu-Wing Mai and Xiaozhou Liao",

year = "2021",

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journal = "Nature Communications",

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T1 - Direct observation of nanoscale dynamics of ferroelectric degradation

AU - Huang, Qianwei

AU - Chen, Zibin

AU - Cabral, Matthew J.

AU - Wang, Feifei

AU - Zhang, Shujun

AU - Li, Fei

AU - Li, Yulan

AU - Ringer, Simon P.

AU - Luo, Haosu

AU - Mai, Yiu-Wing

AU - Liao, Xiaozhou

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Failure of polarization reversal, i.e., ferroelectric degradation, induced by cyclic electric loadings in ferroelectric materials, has been a long-standing challenge that negatively impacts the application of ferroelectrics in devices where reliability is critical. It is generally believed that space charges or injected charges dominate the ferroelectric degradation. However, the physics behind the phenomenon remains unclear. Here, using in-situ biasing transmission electron microscopy, we discover change of charge distribution in thin ferroelectrics during cyclic electric loadings. Charge accumulation at domain walls is the main reason of the formation of c domains, which are less responsive to the applied electric field. The rapid growth of the frozen c domains leads to the ferroelectric degradation. This finding gives insights into the nature of ferroelectric degradation in nanodevices, and reveals the role of the injected charges in polarization reversal. © 2021, The Author(s).

AB - Failure of polarization reversal, i.e., ferroelectric degradation, induced by cyclic electric loadings in ferroelectric materials, has been a long-standing challenge that negatively impacts the application of ferroelectrics in devices where reliability is critical. It is generally believed that space charges or injected charges dominate the ferroelectric degradation. However, the physics behind the phenomenon remains unclear. Here, using in-situ biasing transmission electron microscopy, we discover change of charge distribution in thin ferroelectrics during cyclic electric loadings. Charge accumulation at domain walls is the main reason of the formation of c domains, which are less responsive to the applied electric field. The rapid growth of the frozen c domains leads to the ferroelectric degradation. This finding gives insights into the nature of ferroelectric degradation in nanodevices, and reveals the role of the injected charges in polarization reversal. © 2021, The Author(s).

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85103995062

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U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-22355-1

DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-22355-1

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 33828086

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 12

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 2095

ER -

Direct observation of nanoscale dynamics of ferroelectric degradation

Abstract

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