Realization of sextuple polarization states and interstate switching in antiferroelectric CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38531845.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46891-8 and PMC identifier 10965965.
- 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
Realization of higher-order multistates with mutual interstate switching in ferroelectric materials is a perpetual drive for high-density storage devices and beyond-Moore technologies. Here we demonstrate experimentally that antiferroelectric van der Waals CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> films can be controllably stabilized into double, quadruple, and sextuple polarization states, and a system harboring polarization order of six is also reversibly tunable into order of four or two. Furthermore, for a given polarization order, mutual interstate switching can be achieved via moderate electric field modulation. First-principles studies of CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> multilayers help to reveal that the double, quadruple, and sextuple states are attributable to the existence of respective single, double, and triple ferroelectric domains with antiferroelectric interdomain coupling and Cu ion migration. These findings offer appealing platforms for developing multistate ferroelectric devices, while the underlining mechanism is transformative to other non-volatile material systems.