Light-Controlled Nanoscopic Writing of Electronic Memories Using the Tip-Enhanced Bulk Photovoltaic Effect

The light control of nonvolatile nanoscale memories could represent a fundamental step toward novel optoelectronic devices with memory and logic functionalities. However, most of the proposed devices exhibit insufficient control in terms of the reversibility, data retention, photosensitivity, limited-photoactive area, and so forth. Here, in a proof-of-concept work, we demonstrate the use of the tip-enhanced bulk photovoltaic (BPV) effect to realize programmable nanoscopic writing of nonphotoactive electronic devices by light control. We show that electronic properties of solid-state memory devices can be reversibly and location-precisely manipulated in the nanoscale using the BPV effect in combination with the nanoscale contact connection, that is, atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe technique in this work. More than 10⁵% reversible switching of tunneling electroresistance of ferroelectric tunnel junctions is exclusively achieved by light control. Using the same light-controlled AFM probe technique, we also present precise nanoscopic and multiple-state writing of LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG)-based field-effect transistors. The tip-enhanced BPV effect can offer a novel avenue for reversible and multistate light control of a wide range of electronic memory devices in the nanoscale and may lead to more sophisticated functionalities in optoelectronic applications.