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Updated: Oct 4, 2025

A Fabrication and Measurement Method for a Flexible Ferroelectric Element Based on Van Der Waals Heteroepitaxy
Published on: April 8, 2018
Reversible transition between the polar and antipolar phases and its implications for wake-up and fatigue in
Yan Cheng1, Zhaomeng Gao2,3, Kun Hee Ye4,5
1Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (MOE), Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, 200241, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Atomic-resolution Cs-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy revealed local shifting of two oxygen positions (OI and OII) within the unit cells of a ferroelectric (Hf0.5Zr0.5)O2 thin film. A reversible transition between the polar Pbc21 and antipolar Pbca phases, where the crystal structures of the 180° domain wall of the Pbc21 phase and the unit cell structure of the Pbca phase were identical, was induced by applying appropriate cycling voltages. The critical field strength that determined whether the film would be woken up or fatigued was ~0.8 MV/cm, above or below which wake-up or fatigue was observed, respectively. Repeated cycling with sufficiently high voltages led to development of the interfacial nonpolar P42/nmc phase, which induced fatigue through the depolarizing field effect. The fatigued film could be rejuvenated by applying a slightly higher voltage, indicating that these transitions were reversible. These mechanisms are radically different from those of conventional ferroelectrics.
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