Polarization switching on the open surfaces of the wurtzite ferroelectric nitrides: ferroelectric subsystems and electrochemical reactivity

TL;DR

This study investigates the complex polarization switching behavior in wurtzite ferroelectric nitrides, revealing weakly coupled subsystems and electrochemical reactivity, using advanced high-resolution PFM techniques to understand their coupled ferroelectric and chemical phenomena.

Contribution

It uncovers the presence of two weakly coupled ferroelectric subsystems and electrochemical reactivity, providing a universal phenomenological model for polarization switching in wurtzite ferroelectric nitrides.

Findings

Identification of two weakly coupled ferroelectric subsystems

Detection of bias-induced electrochemical reactivity

Confirmation of universal polarization behaviors in wurtzite nitrides

Abstract

Binary ferroelectric nitrides are promising materials for information technologies and power electronics. However, polarization switching in these materials is highly unusual. From the structural perspective, polarization reversal is associated with the change of the effective polarity at the surfaces and interfaces from N-to-M terminated, suggesting strong coupling between ferroelectric and chemical phenomena. Phenomenologically, macroscopic studies demonstrate the presence of complex time dependent phenomena including wake-up. Here, we explore the polarization switching using the multidimensional high-resolution piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and spectroscopy, detecting both the evolution of induced ferroelectric domain, electromechanical response, and surface deformation during first-order reversal curve measurements. We demonstrate the presence of two weakly coupled ferroelectric subsystems and the bias-induced electrochemical reactivity. The observed behaviors are very similar to the recent studies of other wurtzite system but additionally include electrochemical reactivity, suggesting the universality of these behaviors for the wurtzite binary ferroelectrics. These studies suggest potential of high-resolution multimodal PFM spectroscopies to resolve complex coupled polarization dynamics in materials. Furthermore, these PFM based studies are fully consistent with the recent electron microscopy observations of the shark-teeth like ferroelectric domains in nitrides. Hence, we believe that these studies establish the universal phenomenological picture of polarization switching in binary wurtzite.