2025/01/10 by Didac Barneo, R. Ramos, Barneo, Didac +13
Engineering · Materials Science · #Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design #Applied Physics (physics.app-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Ferroelectric and Negative Capacitance Devices #Machine Learning in Materials Science #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2501.06005
openalex publication_date 2025/01/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Here we investigate epitaxial Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 ferroelectric thin films as potential candidates to be used as non-volatile electric-field-modulated thermal memories. The electric-field dependence of the thermal conductivity of metal/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/YSZ devices is found to be hysteretic, resembling the polarization vs electric field hysteresis loops, being maximum (minimum) at large applied positive (negative) voltages from the top metallic electrode. This dynamic thermal response is compatible with the coupling between the ferroelectric polarization and the oxygen ion migration, in which the oxygen vacancies are the main phonon scattering sources and the polarization acts as an electrically active ion migration barrier that creates the hysteresis. This new mechanism enables two non-volatile thermal states: high (ON) and low (OFF) thermal conductivity, with an ON/OFF ratio of 1.6. Both the ON and OFF states exhibit high stability over time, though the switching speed is limited by ion mobility in the YSZ electrode.