Ferroelectricity in Atomic Layer Deposited Wurtzite Zinc Magnesium Oxide Zn<sub>1-<i>x</i></sub>Mg<sub><i>x</i></sub>O.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40489795.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c02005 and PMC identifier 12186618.
- 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
Conformal deposition of wurtzite ferroelectrics, which is needed for their use in scaled nonvolatile memories, is challenging using current physical vapor deposition techniques. To overcome the conformality barrier, this work demonstrates ferroelectricity in wurtzite Zn<sub>1-<i>x</i></sub>Mg<sub><i>x</i></sub>O thin films prepared by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition, which is a non-line-of-sight deposition method. Films ranging in composition from <i>x</i> = 0.00 to <i>x</i> = 0.58 are predominantly wurtzite phase and exhibit a (0001)-texture. Increasing the magnesium content decreases the <i>c</i>/<i>a</i> ratio, increases the optical bandgap energy, increases the piezoelectric response, and enables polarization reversal. Clear polarization switching is demonstrated in 50 nm thick Zn<sub>1-<i>x</i></sub>Mg<sub><i>x</i></sub>O films by piezoresponse force microscopy in compositions containing <i>x</i> = 0.46 and <i>x</i> = 0.58.