Low voltage graphene interface engineered organic ferroelectric tunnel junction devices

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that engineering the interface in ultra-thin ferroelectric tunnel junctions with graphene enables polarization switching below 1 V and enhances tunneling electroresistance, advancing low-voltage ferroelectric devices.

Contribution

It introduces a method to reduce operating voltages and increase TER in ferroelectric tunnel junctions by interface engineering with graphene.

Findings

Polarization switching at ~0.8 V in ultra-thin FE films on graphene

Enhanced tunneling electroresistance achieved through interface engineering

Potential for low-voltage, high-performance ferroelectric devices

Abstract

It has been indicated that the path forward for the widespread usage of ferroelectric (FE) materials may be considerably facilitated through the reduction of programming voltages to on-chip logic compatible values of < 1 V. Obstacles involve issues related to the scaling of the FEs to lower thickness as well as the presence of an interfacial layer (IL) between the high permittivity FE and the substrate -- resulting in wasted voltage across the IL. Here, we show how lower operating voltages along with a higher tunneling electroresistance (TER) could be achieved through IL engineering. We use piezoresponse force microscopy and fabricated ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) to show that ultra-thin FE films deposited on single layer graphene can exhibit polarization switching at ~ 0.8 V with significant TER.