In tunnel junctions with ferroelectric barriers, switching the polarization direction modifies the electrostatic potential profile and the associated average tunnel barrier height. This results in strong changes of the tunnel transmission and associa
ted resistance. The information readout in ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) is thus resistive and non-destructive, which is an advantage compared to the case of conventional ferroelectric memories (FeRAMs). Initially, endurance limitation (i.e. fatigue) was the main factor hampering the industrialization of FeRAMs. Systematic investigations of switching dynamics for various ferroelectric and electrode materials have resolved this issue, with endurance now reaching $10^{14}$ cycles. Here we investigate data retention and endurance in fully patterned submicron Co/BiFeO$_3$/Ca$_{0.96}$Ce$_{0.04}$MnO$_3$ FTJs. We report good reproducibility with high resistance contrasts and extend the maximum reported endurance of FTJs by three orders of magnitude ($4times10^6$ cycles). Our results indicate that here fatigue is not limited by a decrease of the polarization or an increase of the leakage but rather by domain wall pinning. We propose directions to access extreme and intermediate resistance states more reliably and further strengthen the potential of FTJs for non-volatile memory applications.
Using a low-temperature conductive-tip atomic force microscope in cross-section geometry we have characterized the local transport properties of the metallic electron gas that forms at the interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. At low temperature, we f
ind that the carriers do not spread away from the interface but are confined within ~10 nm, just like at room temperature. Simulations taking into account both the large temperature and electric-field dependence of the permittivity of SrTiO3 predict a confinement over a few nm for sheet carrier densities larger than ~6 10^13 cm-2. We discuss the experimental and simulations results in terms of a multi-band carrier system. Remarkably, the Fermi wavelength estimated from Hall measurements is ~16 nm, indicating that the electron gas in on the verge of two-dimensionality.
The alpha-beta magneto-structural phase transition in MnAs/GaAs(111) epilayers is investigated by elastic neutron scattering. The in-plane parameter of MnAs remains almost constant with temperature from 100 K to 420 K, following the thermal evolution
of the GaAs substrate. This induces a temperature dependent biaxial strain that is responsible for an alpha-beta phase coexistence and, more important, for the stabilization of the ferromagnetic alpha-phase at higher temperature than in bulk. We explain the premature appearance of the beta-phase at 275 K and the persistence of the ferromagnetic alpha-phase up to 350 K with thermodynamical arguments based on the MnAs phase diagram. It results that the biaxial strain in the hexagonal plane is the key parameter to extend the ferromagnetic phase well over room temperature.
