Field-effect transistors based on charged domain walls in van der Waals ferroelectric {\alpha}-In$_2$Se$_3$

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the creation of charged domain wall-based field-effect transistors in van der Waals ferroelectric $ extalpha$-In$_2$Se$_3$, achieving low resistance and revealing temperature-dependent transport mechanisms, thus enabling advanced memory and computing applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to generate and utilize artificial charged domain walls in $ extalpha$-In$_2$Se$_3$ for functional transistors with significantly reduced resistance.

Findings

CDW-FETs exhibit a metal-insulator transition with temperature.

Room-temperature resistance is as low as 3.1 kΩ, much lower than previous devices.

Transport mechanisms include variable range hopping and trap-assisted conduction.

Abstract

Charged domain walls (CDW) in ferroelectrics are emerging as functional interfaces with potential applications in nonvolatile memory, logic, and neuromorphic computing. However, CDWs in conventional ferroelectrics are vertical, buried, or electrically inaccessible interfaces that prevent their use in functional devices. Here, we overcome these challenges by stacking two opposite polar domains of van der Waals ferroelectric $\alpha$-In$_2$Se$_3$ to generate artificial head-head (H-H) CDWs and use edge contact to fabricate charged domain wall-based field-effect transistors (CDW-FET). We relate the atomic structure to the temperature-dependent electrical and magneto-transport of the CDW-FET. CDW-FETs exhibit a metal-to-insulator transition with decreasing temperature and enhanced conductance and field-effect mobility compared to single domain $\alpha$-In$_2$Se$_3$. We identify two regimes of transport: variable range hopping due to disorder in the band edge below 70 K and thermally activated interfacial trap-assisted transport above 70 K. The CDW-FETs show room-temperature resistance down to 3.1 k$\Omega$ which is 2-9 orders of magnitude smaller than the single CDW in thin-film ferroelectrics. These results resolve longstanding challenges with high CDW resistance and their device integration, opening opportunities for gigahertz memory and neuromorphic computing.