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Related Concept Videos

Ferromagnetism01:31

Ferromagnetism

Materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt consist of magnetic domains, within which the magnetic dipoles are arranged parallel to each other. The magnetic dipoles are rigidly aligned in the same direction within a domain by quantum mechanical coupling among the atoms. This coupling is so strong that even thermal agitation at room temperature cannot break it. The result is that each domain has a net dipole moment. However, some materials have weaker coupling, and are ferromagnetic at lower...
Ionic Crystal Structures02:42

Ionic Crystal Structures

Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
Trends in Lattice Energy: Ion Size and Charge02:54

Trends in Lattice Energy: Ion Size and Charge

An ionic compound is stable because of the electrostatic attraction between its positive and negative ions. The lattice energy of a compound is a measure of the strength of this attraction. The lattice energy (ΔHlattice) of an ionic compound is defined as the energy required to separate one mole of the solid into its component gaseous ions. For the ionic solid sodium chloride, the lattice energy is the enthalpy change of the process:
Colors and Magnetism03:02

Colors and Magnetism

Color in Coordination Complexes
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Valence Bond Theory02:42

Valence Bond Theory

Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...
Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer02:48

Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer

Ions are atoms or molecules bearing an electrical charge. A cation (a positive ion) forms when a neutral atom loses one or more electrons from its valence shell, and an anion (a negative ion) forms when a neutral atom gains one or more electrons in its valence shell. Compounds composed of ions are called ionic compounds (or salts), and their constituent ions are held together by ionic bonds: electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged cations and anions.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 20, 2026

A Fabrication and Measurement Method for a Flexible Ferroelectric Element Based on Van Der Waals Heteroepitaxy
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A Fabrication and Measurement Method for a Flexible Ferroelectric Element Based on Van Der Waals Heteroepitaxy

Published on: April 8, 2018

Ferroelectricity in Simple Binary ZrO2 and HfO2.

Johannes Müller1, Tim S Böscke, Uwe Schröder

  • 1Fraunhofer Center for Nanoelectronic Technology, Dresden, Germany. johannes.mueller@ieee.org

Nano Letters
|July 21, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and hafnium dioxide (HfO2) thin films exhibit ferroelectricity due to a size-driven phase transition. This discovery unlocks new possibilities for nanoscale ferroelectric devices.

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Last Updated: May 20, 2026

A Fabrication and Measurement Method for a Flexible Ferroelectric Element Based on Van Der Waals Heteroepitaxy
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Published on: April 8, 2018

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Fabrication of Schottky Diodes on Zn-polar BeMgZnO/ZnO Heterostructure Grown by Plasma-assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Published on: October 23, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Solid State Physics
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and hafnium dioxide (HfO2) are typically considered simple dielectrics due to their expected centrosymmetric crystal structures.
  • Their limited functionality has restricted their application despite successful integration into microelectronics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential for ferroelectric properties in nanoscale ZrO2 and HfO2 thin films.
  • To explore the influence of composition and temperature on ferroelectric phase transitions in HfO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of pure, sub-10 nm ZrO2 thin films.
  • Composition and temperature-dependent studies of HfO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides.
  • Structural investigation using X-ray diffraction to determine crystal phases and space groups.

Main Results:

  • Discovery of a field-driven ferroelectric phase transition in pure ZrO2 thin films below 10 nm.
  • Identification of a stable ferroelectric phase in HfO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides, dependent on composition and temperature.
  • Attribution of ferroelectricity to a size-driven tetragonal to orthorhombic phase transition, occurring at room temperature in thin films.
  • Structural analysis revealed the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase belongs to space group Pbc2(1), confirming its noncentrosymmetric nature.

Conclusions:

  • Nanoscale ZrO2 and HfO2-based materials can exhibit ferroelectric properties, challenging previous assumptions.
  • The noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic phase (space group Pbc2(1)) is responsible for the observed spontaneous polarization.
  • These findings open avenues for novel nanoscale ferroelectric applications.