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Ferroelectrics possess a polarization that is spontaneous, stable and electrically switchable, and submicrometre-thick ferroelectric films are currently used as non-volatile memory elements with destructive capacitive readout. Memories based on tunnel junctions with ultrathin ferroelectric barriers would enable non-destructive resistive readout. However, the achievement of room-temperature polarization stability and switching at very low thickness is challenging. Here we use piezoresponse force microscopy at room temperature to show robust ferroelectricity down to 1 nm in highly strained BaTiO3 films; we also use room-temperature conductive-tip atomic force microscopy to demonstrate resistive readout of the polarization state through its influence on the tunnel current. The resulting electroresistance effect scales exponentially with ferroelectric film thickness, reaching ∼75,000% at 3 nm. Our approach exploits the otherwise undesirable leakage current—dominated by tunnelling at these very low thicknesses—to read the polarization state without destroying it. We demonstrate scalability down to 70 nm, corresponding to potential densities of >16 Gbit inch-2. These results pave the way towards ferroelectric memories with simplified architectures, higher densities and faster operation, and should inspire further exploration of the interplay between quantum tunnelling and ferroelectricity at the nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 associated 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 1014 cycles. Here we investigate data retention and endurance in fully patterned submicron Co/BiFeO3/Ca0.96Ce0.04MnO3 FTJs. We report good reproducibility with high resistance contrasts and extend the maximum reported endurance of FTJs by three orders of magnitude (4×106 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the growth, structural, and functional characterization of BiFeO3/YBa2Cu3O7-δ ferroelectric/superconductor heterostructures. High-structural-quality bilayers are obtained, which display good ferroelectric and superconducting properties. We demonstrate that an unusually strong field-effect modulation of the YBa2Cu3O7-δ superconducting critical temperature can be produced upon ferroelectric switching of the BiFeO3 overlayer, and we show that this effect is non-volatile and reversible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistency of ferroelectricity in ultrathin films allows their use as tunnel barriers. Ferroelectric tunnel junctions are used to explore the tunneling electroresistance effect—a change in the electrical resistance associated with polarization reversal in the ferroelectric barrier layer—resulting from the interplay between ferroelectricity and quantum-mechanical tunneling. Here, we use piezoresponse force microscopy and conductive-tip atomic force microscopy at room temperature to demonstrate the resistive readout of the polarization state through its influence on the tunnel current in PbTiO3 ultrathin ferroelectric films. The tunnel electroresistance reaches values of 50 000% through a 3.6 nm PbTiO3 film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetoelectric coupling existing in some multiferroics may allow the low-power electrical control of spintronics devices. However, room temperature magnetoelectric multiferroics are extremely rare, an exception being BiFeO3, a ferroelectric antiferromagnet. To be used for electrically controllable spintronics, BiFeO3 has to be coupled with a ferromagnetic material through an interfacial exchange interaction, and carefully engineered to show minimum leakage. Here, we propose a Mn doped/undoped bilayer strategy that allows obtaining large exchange bias as well as low leakage. This is an important step toward the manipulation of a magnetization by an electric field in a vertical geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In studies using piezoresponse force microscopy, we observe a nonzero lateral piezoresponse at 180° domain walls in out-of-plane polarized, c-axis-oriented tetragonal ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 epitaxial thin films. We attribute these observations to a shear strain effect linked to the sign change of the d33 piezoelectric coefficient through the domain wall, in agreement with theoretical predictions. We show that in monoclinically distorted tetragonal BiFeO3 films, this effect is superimposed on the lateral piezoresponse due to actual in-plane polarization and has to be taken into account in order to correctly interpret the ferroelectric domain configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, strain engineering has been shown to be a powerful and flexible means of tailoring the properties of ABO3 perovskite thin films. The effect of epitaxial strain on the structure of the perovskite unit cell can induce a host of interesting effects, these arising from either polar cation shifts or rotation of the oxygen octahedra, or both. In the multi-ferroic perovskite bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3-BFO), both degrees of freedom exist, and thus a complex behaviour may be expected as one plays with epitaxial strain. In this paper, we review our results on the role of strain on the ferroic transition temperatures and ferroic order parameters. We find that, while the Néel temperature is almost unchanged by strain, the ferroelectric Curie temperature strongly decreases as strain increases in both the tensile and compressive ranges. Also unexpected is the very weak influence of strain on the ferroelectric polarization value. Using effective Hamiltonian calculations, we show that these peculiar behaviours arise from the competition between antiferrodistortive and polar instabilities. Finally, we present results on the magnetic order: while the cycloidal spin modulation present in the bulk survives in weakly strained films, it is destroyed at large strain and replaced by pseudo-collinear antiferromagnetic ordering. We discuss the origin of this effect and give perspectives for devices based on strain-engineered BiFeO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films grown on highly mismatched LaAlO3 substrates, we reveal the coexistence of two differently distorted polymorphs that leads to striking features in the temperature dependence of the structural and multiferroic properties. Notably, the highly distorted phase quasiconcomitantly presents an abrupt structural change, transforms from a standard to a nonconventional ferroelectric, and transitions from antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic at 360 ± 20 K. These coupled ferroic transitions just above room temperature hold promises of giant piezoelectric, magnetoelectric, and piezomagnetic responses, with potential in many applications fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A current drawback of spintronics is the large power that is usually required for magnetic writing, in contrast with nanoelectronics, which relies on "zero-current," gate-controlled operations. Efforts have been made to control the spin-relaxation rate, the Curie temperature, or the magnetic anisotropy with a gate voltage, but these effects are usually small and volatile. We used ferroelectric tunnel junctions with ferromagnetic electrodes to demonstrate local, large, and nonvolatile control of carrier spin polarization by electrically switching ferroelectric polarization. Our results represent a giant type of interracial magnetoelectric coupling and suggest a low-power approach for spin-based information control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]