Electroresistance in multipolar antiferroelectric Cu<sub>2</sub>Se semiconductor.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34893623.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-27531-x and PMC identifier 8664818.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Electric field-induced changes in the electrical resistance of a material are considered essential and enabling processes for future efficient large-scale computations. However, the underlying physical mechanisms of electroresistance are currently remain largely unknown. Herein, an electrically reversible resistance change has been observed in the thermoelectric α-Cu<sub>2</sub>Se. The spontaneous electric dipoles formed by Cu<sup>+</sup> ions displaced from their positions at the centers of Se-tetrahedrons in the ordered α-Cu<sub>2</sub>Se phase are examined, and α-Cu<sub>2</sub>Se phase is identified to be a multipolar antiferroelectric semiconductor. When exposed to the applied voltage, a reversible switching of crystalline domains aligned parallel to the polar axis results in an observed reversible resistance change. The study expands on opportunities for semiconductors with localized polar symmetry as the hardware basis for future computational architectures.