2D Ferroelectricity with switchable electric polarization has drawn widespread attention in condensed matter physics due to its crucial applications in non-volatile memory and ferroelectric spin devices. Despite recent progress in 2D ferroelectric, achieving the mono-elemental ferroelectricity still remains a great challenge because most nonmetallic mono-elemental materials are stabilized in nonpolar crystal structures. In this work, we theoretically designed mono-elemental ferroelectricity with tunable and significant spin textures in bilayer tellurium (BL-Te). Comprehensive quantitative polarization calculations demonstrate that asymmetric stacking in BL-Te can generate out-of-plane (OOP) polarization with a magnitude of 0.78 pC/m. This polarization stems from distinguishing interlayer and intra-layer contributions. Moreover, these stacked BL-Te, characterized by significant spin-orbit coupling, serve as an ideal platform for investigating both conventional spin polarization and layer-dependent/hidden spin polarization through ferroelectric reversion. Our work not only broaden the category of 2D mono-elemental ferroelectric but also offer a new platform for multifunctional nanodevices.
Low dimensional ferroelectrics are highly desired for applications and full of exotic physics. Here a functionalized MXene Hf$_2$CF$_2$ monolayer is theoretically studied, which manifests a nonpolar to polar transition upon moderate biaxial compressive strain. Accompanying this structural transition, a metal-semiconductor transition occurs. The in-plane shift of unilateral fluorine layer leads to a polarization pointing out-of-plane. Such ferroelectricity is unconventional, similar to the recently-proposed interlayer-sliding ferroelectricity but not identical. Due to its specific hexapetalous …
Multiferroics with intrinsic ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity are highly desired but rather rare, while most ferroelectric magnets are antiferromagnetic. A recent theoretical work [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 99}, 195434 (2019)] predicted that oxyhalides VO$X_2$ ($X$: halogen) monolayers are two-dimensional multiferroics by violating the empirical $d^0$ rule. Most interestingly, the member VOI$_2$ are predicted to exhibit spontaneous ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. In this work, we extend the previous study on the structure and magnetism of VOI$_2$ monolayer by using density functional theory an…
2D van der Waals ferroelectric semiconductors have emerged as an attractive building block with immense potential to provide multifunctionality in nanoelectronics. Although several accomplishments have been reported in ferroelectric resistive switching for out-of-plane 2D ferroelectrics down to the monolayer, a purely in-plane ferroelectric has not been experimentally validated at the monolayer thickness. Herein, a micrometer-size monolayer SnS is grown on mica by physical vapor deposition, and in-plane ferroelectric switching is demonstrated with a two-terminal device at room temperature (RT)…
2D Ferroelectric materials are promising for designing low-dimensional memory devices. Here, we explore strain tunable ferroelectric properties of group-IV monochalcogenides MX (M=Ge, Sn; X=S, Se) and their potential application in lateral field tunnel junction devices. We find that these monolayers have in-plane ferroelectricity, with their ferroelectric parameters being on par with other known 2D ferroelectric materials. Amongst SnSe, SnS, GeSe, and GeS, we find that GeS has the best ferroelectric parameters for device applications, which can be improved further by applying uniaxial tensile …
Van der Waals (vdW) materials have greatly expanded our design space of heterostructures by allowing individual layers to be stacked at non-equilibrium configurations, for example via control of the twist angle. Such heterostructures not only combine characteristics of the individual building blocks, but can also exhibit emergent physical properties absent in the parent compounds through interlayer interactions. Here we report on a new family of emergent, nanometer-thick, semiconductor 2D ferroelectrics, where the individual constituents are well-studied non-ferroelectric monolayer transition …
Low-dimensional ferroelectricity and polar materials have attracted considerable attentions for their fascinating physics and potential applications. Based on first-principles calculations, here we investigate the stacking modes and polar properties of a typical series of quasi-one-dimensional ferroelectrics: double-chain oxyhalides NbO$X_3$ ($X$=Cl, Br, I). The geometry of their double-chains allows both the interchain/intrachain permutation. Thus, different stacking modes of double-chains lead to a variety of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases in both the tetragonal and monoclinic cr…
Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectricity has attracted extensive attention since its discovery in the monolayers of van der Waals materials. Here we show that 2D ferroelectricity induced by octahedral rotation distortion is widely present in the perovskite bilayer system through first-principles calculations. The perovskite tolerance factor plays a crucial role in the lattice dynamics and ground-state structure of the perovskite monolayers and bilayers, thus providing an important indicator for screening this hybrid improper ferroelectricity. Generally, the ferroelectric switching via an orthorho…
Cornell University（康奈尔大学）；University of Nebraska, Lincoln（内布拉斯加大学林肯分校）；Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung（莱布尼茨晶体生长研究所）；Pacific Northwest National Laboratory（太平洋西北国家实验室）；The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学）；University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；Rice University（莱斯大学）；Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science（康奈尔卡弗里纳米科学研究所）；Princeton University（普林斯顿大学）
Ferroelectricity in Atomically Thin Metallic TaNiTe$_5$ with Ultrahigh Carrier Density
State Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Engineering Science, Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学物理与天文学院微纳工程科学国家重点实验室人工结构与量子控制教育部重点实验室）；School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University（宁波大学物理科学与技术学院）；School of Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology（浙江工业大学物理学院）；Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学李政道研究所）；Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures（先进微结构协同创新中心）
Two-dimensional materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization are of notable interest for functional materials. However, despite many two-dimensional polar materials are predicted in theory, the number of experimentally confirmed two-dimensional ferroelectrics are still far less than bulk ferroelectrics. We provide strong evidence that the Pmn2$_1$ phase of arsenic chalcogenides As$_2$X$_3$ (X=S, Se, and Te), which include the recently isolated monolayer orpiment, are intrinsic ferroelectrics and demonstrate strong in-plane piezoelectricity. We found the calculated energy barriers f…
Twisted heterostructures of two-dimensional crystals offer almost unlimited scope for the design of novel metamaterials. Here we demonstrate a room-temperature ferroelectric semiconductor that is assembled using mono- or few- layer MoS2. These van der Waals heterostructures feature broken inversion symmetry, which, together with the asymmetry of atomic arrangement at the interface of two 2D crystals, enables ferroelectric domains with alternating out-of-plane polarisation arranged into a twist-controlled network. The latter can be moved by applying out-of-plane electrical fields, as visualized…
A noncentrosymmetric superconductor can have a superconducting diode effect, where the critical current in opposite directions is different when time-reversal symmetry is also broken. We theoretically propose that a ferroelectric superconductor with coexisting ferroelectricity and superconductivity can support a ferroelectric reversible superconducting diode effect. Through first-principles calculation, we predict that monolayer CuNb$_2$Se$_4$ (i.e., bilayer NbSe$_2$ intercalated with Cu) is such a ferroelectric superconductor, where ferroelectricity controls the layer polarization as well as …
Ferroelectricity in the 1 $μ$C cm$^{-2}$ range induced by canted antiferromagnetism in (LaMn$_{3}$)Mn$_{4}$O$_{12}$
四重钙钛矿（LaMn $_{3}$）Mn $_{4}$ O $_{12}$的多晶样品上的热释电电流和磁电耦合测量给出了由$B$ -站点Mn $^{3+}$离子的反铁磁有序驱动的铁电性的证据，在$T_{N,B}$ =78 K，剩余电极化的记录值高达$P$ =0.56 $μ$ C cm $^{-2}$。X射线衍射测量表明，在$T_{N,B}$处，$P$处于$ac$ -平面内，磁矩共线，表明交换伸缩是自旋驱动铁电性的机制.预期单晶中的极化值$\sim$ 3 $μ$ C cm $^{-2}$，这将为实际的多铁性应用开辟道路。
Prediction of Magnetoelectric Multiferroic Janus Monolayers VOXY(X/Y = F, Cl, Br, or I, and X$\not=$Y) with in-plane ferroelectricity and out-of-plane piezoelectricity
Twist-induced Out-of-plane Ferroelectricity in Bilayer Hafnia
Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis（华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校材料科学与工程研究所）；Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Washington University in St. Louis（华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校机械工程和材料科学系）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln（内布拉斯加大学林肯分校物理与天文学系）；Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis（华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校物理系）
Epitaxial orthorhombic Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) films on La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) electrodes show robust ferroelectricity, with high polarization, endurance and retention. However, no similar results have been achieved using other perovskite electrodes so far. Here, LSMO and other perovskite electrodes are compared. A small amount of orthorhombic phase and low polarization is found in HZO films grown on La-doped BaSnO3 and Nb-doped SrTiO3, while null amounts of orthorhombic phase and polarization are detected in films on LaNiO3 and SrRuO3. The critical effect of the electrode on the stabilized phases…
Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals ferroelectrics provide an unprecedented architectural freedom for the creation of artificial multiferroics and non-volatile electronic devices based on vertical and co-planar heterojunctions of 2D ferroic materials. Nevertheless, controlled microscopic manipulation of ferroelectric domains is still rare in monolayer-thick 2D ferroelectrics with in-plane polarization. Here we report the discovery of robust ferroelectricity with a critical temperature close to 400 K in SnSe monolayer plates grown on graphene, and the demonstration of controlled room temperature…
