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Updated: Nov 2, 2025

A Fabrication and Measurement Method for a Flexible Ferroelectric Element Based on Van Der Waals Heteroepitaxy
Published on: April 8, 2018
Interfacial ferroelectricity by van der Waals sliding
M Vizner Stern1, Y Waschitz1, W Cao2
1School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Abstract:
Despite their partial ionic nature, many layered diatomic crystals avoid internal electric polarization by forming a centrosymmetric lattice at their optimal van-der-Waals stacking. Here, we report a stable ferroelectric order emerging at the interface between two naturally-grown flakes of hexagonal-boron-nitride, which are stacked together in a metastable non-centrosymmetric parallel orientation. We observe alternating domains of inverted normal polarization, caused by a lateral shift of one lattice site between the domains. Reversible polarization switching coupled to lateral sliding is achieved by scanning a biased tip above the surface. Our calculations trace the origin of the phenomenon to a subtle interplay between charge redistribution and ionic displacement, and provide intuitive insights to explore the interfacial polarization and its unique "slidetronics" switching mechanism.
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