Giant tunnelling electroresistance in metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions by engineering the Schottky barrier

Zhongnan Xi, Jieji Ruan, Chen Li, Chunyan Zheng, Zheng Wen (), Jiyan Dai, Aidong Li and Di Wu ()
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Zhongnan Xi: College of Physics, Qingdao University
Jieji Ruan: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing University
Chen Li: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing University
Chunyan Zheng: College of Physics, Qingdao University
Zheng Wen: College of Physics, Qingdao University
Jiyan Dai: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Aidong Li: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing University
Di Wu: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing University

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Recently, ferroelectric tunnel junctions have attracted much attention due to their potential applications in non-destructive readout non-volatile memories. Using a semiconductor electrode has been proven effective to enhance the tunnelling electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions. Here we report a systematic investigation on electroresistance of Pt/BaTiO3/Nb:SrTiO3 metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions by engineering the Schottky barrier on Nb:SrTiO3 surface via varying BaTiO3 thickness and Nb doping concentration. The optimum ON/OFF ratio as great as 6.0 × 106, comparable to that of commercial Flash memories, is achieved in a device with 0.1 wt% Nb concentration and a 4-unit-cell-thick BaTiO3 barrier. With this thinnest BaTiO3 barrier, which shows a negligible resistance to the tunnelling current but is still ferroelectric, the device is reduced to a polarization-modulated metal/semiconductor Schottky junction that exhibits a more efficient control on the tunnelling resistance to produce the giant electroresistance observed. These results may facilitate the design of high performance non-volatile resistive memories.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15217

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