The review is focused on our recent predictions of nontrivial physical phenomena taking place in the nanostructure single-layer grapheme on ferroelectric substrate, which are related with magnetic field. In particular we predicted that 180-degree domain walls in a strained ferroelectric film can induce p-n junctions in a graphene channel and lead to the unusual temperature and gate voltage dependences of the perpendicular modes ν of the integer quantum Hall effect. The non-integer numbers and their irregular sequence principally differ from the conventional sequence ν= 3/2, 5/3. The unusual v-numbers originate from significantly different numbers of the edge modes, ν1 and ν2, corresponding to different concentration of carriers in the left (n1) and right (n2) ferroelectric domains of p-n junction boundary. The difference between n1 and n2 disappears with the vanishing of the film spontaneous polarization in a paraelectric phase, which can be varied in a wide temperature range by an appropriate choice of misfit strain originated from the film-substrate lattice mismatch. Next we studied the electric conductivity of the system ferromagnetic dielectric - graphene channel - ferroelectric substrate. The magnetic dielectric locally transforms the band spectrum of graphene by inducing an energy gap in it and making it spin-asymmetric with respect to the free electrons. It was demonstrated, that if the Fermi level in the graphene channel belongs to energy intervals, where the graphene band spectrum, modified by EuO, becomes sharply spin-asymmetric, such a device can be an ideal non-volatile spin filter. The practical application of the system under consideration would be restricted by a Curie temperature of a ferromagnet. Controlling of the Fermi level (e.g. by temperature that changes ferroelectric polarization) can convert a spin filter to a spin valve.
Review is devoted to the recent theoretical studies of the impact of domain structure of ferroelectric substrate on graphene conductance. An analytical description of the hysteresis memory effect in a field effect transistor based on graphene-on-ferroelectric, taking into account absorbed dipole layers on the free surface of graphene and localized states on its interfaces is considered. The aspects of the recently developed theory of p-n junctions conductivity in a graphene channel on a ferroelectric substrate, which are created by a 180-degree ferroelectric domain structure, are analyzed, and…
When decreasing the size of nanoscale magnetic particles their magnetization becomes vulnerable to thermal fluctuations as approaching the superparamgnetic limit, hindering thus applications relying on a stable magnetization. Here, we show theoretically that a magnetoelectric coupling to a ferroelectric substrate renders possible the realization of substantially smaller nano clusters with thermally stable magnetization. For an estimate of cluster size we perform calculations with realistic material parameters for iron nano particles on ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrate. We find, steering the pola…
We study electron transport in granular film placed above the ferroelectric substrate. We show that the conductivity of granular film strongly depends on the ferroelectric state due to screening effects which modify the Coulomb blockade in granular film. In particular, the electric current in granular film is controlled by the direction of ferroelectric polarization. We show that the ferroelectric/granular film system has a large electro-resistance effect. This effect can be utilized in memory and electric field sensor applications.
This work explores a nontrivial temperature behavior of the carriers concentration, which governs graphene channel conductance in the nano-structure "graphene channel on ferroelectric substrate" that is a basic element for FETs in non-volatile memory units of new generation. We revealed the transition from a single to double antiferroelectric-like hysteresis loop of the concentration voltage dependence that happens with the temperature increase and then exist in a wide temperature range (from 350 to 500 K). Unexpectedly we revealed the double loops of polarization and concentration can have ir…
The possibility of modulation of mid-IR radiation by low voltage gated single/multilayer graphene on Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 (PZT) ferroelectric substrate was demonstrated theoretically. The depth of modulation for 5 layer graphene for the range of gate voltages, where thin PZT epitaxial film behaves as high-κ dielectric, can be of 10% order.
P-N junctions in graphene on ferroelectric have been actively studied, but the impact of piezoelectric effect in ferroelectric substrate with ferroelectric domain walls (FDWs) on graphene characteristics was not considered. Due to the piezo-effect ferroelectric domain stripes with opposite spontaneous polarizations elongate or contract depending on the polarity of voltage applied to the substrate. We show that the alternating piezoelectric displacement of the ferroelectric domain surfaces can lead to the alternate stretching and separation of graphene areas at the steps between elongated and c…
Graphene's linear dispersion relation and the attendant implications for bipolar electronics applications have motivated a range of experimental efforts aimed at producing p-n junctions in graphene. Here we report electrical transport measurements of graphene p-n junctions formed via simple modifications to a PbZr$_{0.2}$Ti$_{0.8}$O$_3$ substrate, combined with a self-assembled layer of ambient environmental dopants. We show that the substrate configuration controls the local doping region, and that the p-n junction behavior can be controlled with a single gate. Finally, we show that the ferro…
I present a review of both experimental and theoretical studies performed during the recent three years, which deal with the physical properties and possible applications of graphene placed on ferroelectric (organic or Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 (PZT) ceramic) substrates. The system 'graphene-on-ferroelectric substrate' has unique advantages in comparison with the graphene deposited on SiO2 or on dielectrics with high dielectric permittivity. In particular, one can obtain high (~ 1012 cm-2) carrier concentrations in the doped graphene-on-ferroelectric structures for moderate (of the order of 1 V) gate vol…
The electronic properties of graphene on top of ferroelectric HfO$_2$ substrates in orthorhombic phase with space group Pca2$_1$ are investigated using density functional theory calculations. The space group Pca2$_1$ was recently identified as one of the two potential candidates for ferroelectricity in hafnia, with the polarization direction oriented along [001] direction. Our results indicate the appearance of sizable energy gaps in graphene induced by the HfO$_2$ substrate, as a consequence of orbital hybridization and locally deformed graphene structure. The gap sizes depend on the type of …
Here we present the theory of the conductivity of pn junction (pnJ) in graphene channel, placed on ferroelectric substrate, caused by ferroelectric domain wall (FDW) for the case of arbitrary current regime: from ballistic to diffusive one. We calculated the ratio of the pnJ conductions for opposite polarities of voltages, applied to source and drain electrodes of the channel,G+/G- as the function of the graphene channel length L, electron mean free path λ and ferroelectric substrate permittivity. We have demonstrated, that the small values of G+/G-(0.1 and smaller), which correspond to effici…
We revealed that 180 degree ferroelectrics domain walls (FDWs) in a ferroelectric substrate, which induce p-n junctions in a graphene channel, lead to the nontrivial temperature and gate voltage dependences of the perpendicular and parallel modes of the integer quantum Hall effect. In particular the number of perpendicular modes v, corresponding to the p-n junction across the graphene channel varies with gate voltage increase from small integers to higher fractional numbers, e.g.v=1, 1.5, 2, ... 5.1,..9.1, 23 in the vicinity of the transition from ferroelectric to paraelectric phase.These numb…
The p-n junctions dynamics in graphene channel induced by stripe domains nucleation, motion and reversal in a ferroelectric substrate is explored using self-consistent approach based on Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire phenomenology combined with classical electrostatics. We revealed the extrinsic size effect in the dependence of the graphene channel conductivity on its length. For the case of perfect electric contact between the ferroelectric and graphene, relatively low gate voltages are required to induce the pronounced hysteresis of ferroelectric polarization and graphene charge in response to t…
Graphene on ferroelectric structures can be promising candidates for advanced field effect transistors, modulators and electrical transducers, providing that research of their electrotransport and electromechanical performances can be lifted up from mostly empirical to prognostic theoretical level.Recently we have shown that alternating piezoelectric displacement of the ferroelectric domain surfaces can lead to the alternate stretching and separation of graphene areas at the steps between elongated and contracted domains, and the conductance of graphene channel can be increased essentially at …
We describe the directional growth of ferroelectric domains in a multiferroic BiFeO3 thin film, which was grown epitaxially on a vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrate. A detailed structural analysis of the film shows that a strain gradient, which can create a symmetry breaking in a ferroelectric double well potential, causes ferroelectric domains to grow with preferred directionality under the influence of an electric field. Our results suggest the possibility of controlling the direction of domain growth with an electric field by imposing constraints on ferroelectric films, such as a strain gradient…
We study the impact of the ferroelectric domain wall on the ballistic conductance of the single-layer graphene channel in the heterostructure graphene / physical gap / ferroelectric film using Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation. Both self-consistent numerical modeling of the electric field and space charge dynamics in the heterostructure and approximate analytical theory show that the domain wall contact with the surface creates p-n junction in graphene channel. We calculated that the carriers' concentration induced in graphene by uncompensated ferroelectric dipoles originated from the sp…
The conductivity of the system magnetic dielectric (EuO) - graphene channel - ferroelectric substrate was considered. The magnetic dielectric locally transforms the band spectrum of graphene by inducing an energy gap in it and making it spin-asymmetric with respect to the free electrons. The range of spontaneous polarization (2- 5)mC/m2 that can be easily realized in thin films of proper and incipient ferroelectrics, was under examination. It was demonstrated, that if the Fermi level in the graphene channel belongs to energy intervals where the graphene band spectrum, modified by EuO, becomes …
To minimize their electrostatic energy, insulating ferroelectric films tend to break up into nanoscale ``Kittel'' domains of opposite polarization that are separated by uncharged 180$^\circ$ domain walls. Here, I report on self-consistent solutions of coupled Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire and Schrödinger equations for an electron-doped ferroelectric thin film. The model is based on LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces in which the SrTiO$_3$ substrate is made ferroelectric by cation substitution or strain. I find that electron doping destabilizes the Kittel domains. As the two-dimensional electron densi…
Strain-mediated thin film multiferroics comprising piezoelectric/ferromagnetic heterostructures enable the electrical manipulation of magnetization with much greater efficiency than other methods; however, the investigation of nanostructures fabricated from these materials is limited. Here we characterize ferromagnetic Ni nanostructures grown on a ferroelectric PMN-PT substrate using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA) and micromagnetic simulations. The magnetization of the Ni nanostructures can be controlled with a combination of sample geometry and applied electri…
Preparing graphene and its derivatives on functional substrates may open enormous opportunities for exploring the intrinsic electronic properties and new functionalities of graphene. However, efforts in replacing SiO$_{2}$ have been greatly hampered by a very low sample yield of the exfoliation and related transferring methods. Here, we report a new route in exploring new graphene physics and functionalities by transferring large-scale chemical vapor deposition single-layer and bilayer graphene to functional substrates. Using ferroelectric Pb(Zr$_{0.3}$Ti$_{0.7}$)O$_{3}$ (PZT), we demonstrate …
Supplementary Information to arXiv:0810.4466: 1. Characterizations of Pb(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O_3 (PZT) films. 2. Substrate preparation before the exfoliation of graphene. 3. The band structure of FLG. 4. Dielectric constant measurements of PZT. 5. rho(V_g) and R_H(V_g) fitting inside the band overlap regime. 6. The deformation potential of longitudinal acoustic (LA) phonons in graphene. 7. Resistivity and Hall measurements of a SiO_2-gated FLG.
The carrier mobility μof few-layer graphene (FLG) field-effect transistors increases ten-fold when the SiO_2 substrate is replaced by single-crystal epitaxial Pb(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O_3 (PZT). In the electron-only regime of the FLG, μreaches 7x10^4 cm^2/Vs at 300K for n = 2.4x10^12/cm^2, 70% of the intrinsic limit set by longitudinal acoustic (LA) phonons; it increases to 1.4x10^5 cm^2/Vs at low temperature. The temperature-dependent resistivity ρ(T) reveals a clear signature of LA phonon scattering, yielding a deformation potential D = 7.8+/-0.5 eV.
SrTiO3 templates have been used to integrate epitaxial bilayers of ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 and La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 bottom electrode on Si(001). The Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films show enhanced properties in comparison to equivalent films on SrTiO3(001) single crystalline substrates. The films, thinner than 10 nm, have very high remnant polarization of 34 uC/cm2. Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 capacitors at operating voltage of 4 V present long retention time well beyond 10 years and high endurance against fatigue up to 109 cycles. The robust ferroelectric properties displayed by the epitaxial Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films on Si(001) us…
We propose a general theory for the analytical description of versatile hysteretic phenomena in a graphene field effect transistor (GFET) allowing for the existence of the external dipoles on graphene free surface and the localized states at the graphene-surface interface. We demonstrated that the absorbed dipole molecules (e.g. dissociated or highly polarized water molecules) can cause hysteretic form of carrier concentration as a function of gate voltage and corresponding dependence of graphene conductivity in GFET on the substrate of different types, including the most common SiO2 and ferro…
