Ferroelectricity in atomic-scale titanium dioxide dielectric films.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41785309.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.aec9417.
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Abstract
Ferroelectricity at atomic-scale thickness would have important applications in next-generation electronics. Here, we report that a ferroelectric phase can be stabilized in titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) films, a commonly known dielectric that is widely used in semiconductor technologies, by reducing thickness to <3 nanometers. Importantly, this ferroelectricity persists down to 1-nanometer thickness, approximately twice the unit-cell dimension. This thickness-dependent dielectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition demonstrates that an otherwise centrosymmetric, nonferroic fluorite-structure oxide can undergo structural inversion-symmetry breaking and exhibit voltage-switchable polarization. Atomic layer deposition-based low-temperature (<400°C) synthesis and the stability of this ferroelectricity on both silicon (Si) and amorphous surfaces [such as amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO<sub>2</sub>) and amorphous carbon films] demonstrate the feasibility of integration with a large variety of materials.