Optical control of polarization in ferroelectric heterostructures

Tao Li, Alexey Lipatov, Haidong Lu, Hyungwoo Lee, Jung-Woo Lee, Engin Torun, Ludger Wirtz, Chang-Beom Eom, Jorge Íñiguez, Alexander Sinitskii and Alexei Gruverman ()
Additional contact information
Tao Li: University of Nebraska
Alexey Lipatov: University of Nebraska
Haidong Lu: University of Nebraska
Hyungwoo Lee: University of Wisconsin
Jung-Woo Lee: University of Wisconsin
Engin Torun: University of Luxembourg
Ludger Wirtz: University of Luxembourg
Chang-Beom Eom: University of Wisconsin
Jorge Íñiguez: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
Alexander Sinitskii: University of Nebraska
Alexei Gruverman: University of Nebraska

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract In the ferroelectric devices, polarization control is usually accomplished by application of an electric field. In this paper, we demonstrate optically induced polarization switching in BaTiO3-based ferroelectric heterostructures utilizing a two-dimensional narrow-gap semiconductor MoS2 as a top electrode. This effect is attributed to the redistribution of the photo-generated carriers and screening charges at the MoS2/BaTiO3 interface. Specifically, a two-step process, which involves formation of intra-layer excitons during light absorption followed by their decay into inter-layer excitons, results in the positive charge accumulation at the interface forcing the polarization reversal from the upward to the downward direction. Theoretical modeling of the MoS2 optical absorption spectra with and without the applied electric field provides quantitative support for the proposed mechanism. It is suggested that the discovered effect is of general nature and should be observable in any heterostructure comprising a ferroelectric and a narrow gap semiconductor.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-05640-4 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-05640-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05640-4

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().