No Arabic abstract
We report on nanoscale strain gradients in ferroelectric HoMnO3 epitaxial thin films, resulting in a giant flexoelectric effect. Using grazing-incidence in-plane X-ray diffraction, we measured strain gradients in the films, which were 6 or 7 orders of magnitude larger than typical values reported for bulk oxides. The combination of transmission electron microscopy, electrical measurements, and electrostatic calculations showed that flexoelectricity provides a means of tuning the physical properties of ferroelectric epitaxial thin films, such as domain configurations and hysteresis curves.
Mechanical control of magnetic properties in magnetostrictive thin films offers the unexplored opportunity to employ surface wave acoustics in such a way that acoustic triggers dynamic magnetic effects. The strain-induced modulation of the magnetic anisotropy can play the role of a high frequency varying effective magnetic field leading to ultrasonic tuning of electronic and magnetic properties of nanostructured materials, eventually integrated in semiconductor technology. Here, we report about the opportunity to employ surface acoustic waves to trigger magnetocaloric effect in MnAs(100nm)/GaAs(001) thin films. During the MnAs magnetostructural phase transition, in an interval range around room temperature (0{deg}C - 60{deg}C), ultrasonic waves (170 MHz) are strongly attenuated by the phase coexistence (up to 150 dB/cm). We show that the giant magnetocaloric effect of MnAs is responsible of the observed phenomenon. By a simple anelastic model we describe the temperature and the external magnetic field dependence of such a huge ultrasound attenuation. Strain-manipulation of the magnetocaloric effect could be a further interesting route for dynamic and static caloritronics and spintronics applications in semiconductor technology.
Doping ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 with La is a promising route to improve endurance. However, the beneficial effect of La on the endurance of polycrystalline films may be accompanied by degradation of the retention. We have investigated the endurance - retention dilemma in La-doped epitaxial films. Compared to undoped epitaxial films, large values of polarization are obtained in a wider thickness range, whereas the coercive fields are similar, and the leakage current is substantially reduced. Compared to polycrystalline La-doped films, epitaxial La-doped films show more fatigue but there is not significant wake-up effect and endurance-retention dilemma. The persistent wake-up effect common to polycrystalline La-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films, is limited to a few cycles in epitaxial films. Despite fatigue, endurance in epitaxial La-doped films is more than 1010 cycles, and this good property is accompanied by excellent retention of more than 10 years. These results demonstrate that wake-up effect and endurance-retention dilemma are not intrinsic in La-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2.
The metastable orthorhombic phase of hafnia is generally obtained in polycrystalline films, whereas in epitaxial films, its formation has been much less investigated. We have grown Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films by pulsed laser deposition, and the growth window (temperature and oxygen pressure during deposition and film thickness) for epitaxial stabilization of the ferroelectric phase is mapped. The remnant ferroelectric polarization, up to around 24 uC/cm2, depends on the amount of orthorhombic phase and interplanar spacing and increases with temperature and pressure for a fixed film thickness. The leakage current decreases with an increase in thickness or temperature, or when decreasing oxygen pressure. The coercive electric field (EC) depends on thickness (t) according to the coercive electric field (Ec) - thickness (t)-2/3 scaling, which is observed for the first time in ferroelectric hafnia, and the scaling extends to thicknesses down to around 5 nm. The proven ability to tailor the functional properties of high-quality epitaxial ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films paves the way toward understanding their ferroelectric properties and prototyping devices.
The critical impact of epitaxial stress on the stabilization of the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase of hafnia is proved. Epitaxial bilayers of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 electrodes were grown on a set of single crystalline oxide 001-oriented, cubic or pseudocubic setting, substrates with lattice parameter in the 3.71 - 4.21 A range. The lattice strain of the La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 electrode, determined by the lattice mismatch with the substrate, is critical in the stabilization of the orthorhombic phase of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2. On La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 electrodes tensile strained most of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film is orthorhombic, whereas the monoclinic phase is favored when La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 is relaxed or compressively strained. Therefore, the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films on TbScO3 and GdScO3 substrates present substantially enhanced ferroelectric polarization in comparison to films on other substrates, including the commonly used SrTiO3. The capability of having epitaxial doped HfO2 films with controlled phase and polarization is of major interest for a better understanding of the ferroelectric properties and paves the way for fabrication of ferroelectric devices based on nanometric HfO2 films.
We report a giant resistance drop induced by dc electrical currents in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 epitaxial thin films. Resistance of the patterned thin films decreases exponentially with increasing current and a maximum drop shows at the temperature of resistance peak Tp. Variation of resistance with current densities can be scaled below and above Tp, respectively. This work can be useful for the future applications of electroresistance.