Ferroelectric Transistors: from Materials Innovation to Intelligent Electronic Systems

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid State Physics
• Computer Engineering

Background:

• The exponential growth of AI, big data, and IoT necessitates advanced computing power and energy efficiency.
• Conventional von Neumann architectures face limitations due to transistor scaling constraints in the post-Moore era.
• Ferroelectric transistors (FeFETs) emerge as a transformative technology to overcome these bottlenecks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of ferroelectric materials and their properties.
• To analyze the device physics and engineering of three-terminal FeFETs.
• To discuss the applications and future outlook of FeFETs in next-generation electronics.

Main Methods:

• Review of ferroelectric materials (perovskite oxides, hafnium-based compounds, organics, 2D systems).
• Analysis of polarization mechanisms and structure-property relationships.
• Focus on device physics, engineering, and operational principles of FeFETs.

Main Results:

• FeFETs seamlessly integrate nonvolatile storage, in-memory computation, and multi-modal sensing.
• Detailed examination of ferroelectric dielectric and semiconductor-based FeFET designs, including challenges and optimization strategies.
• Exploration of FeFET applications in nonvolatile memory, neuromorphic computing, and AI hardware.

Conclusions:

• FeFETs represent a revolutionary platform for energy-efficient, multifunctional electronics.
• Ferroelectric innovation is key to developing scalable, low-power computing solutions.
• FeFETs are poised to drive advancements in AI hardware and system integration.