Polarisation patterns in nanoscale ferroelectrics for low-power nano-electronics

用于低功率纳米电子器件的纳米级铁电体的极化模式

• 批准号: 2881941
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2881941
• 关键词: Polarisation; patterns; nanoscale; ferroelectrics; low

By analogy with ferromagnets that have a spontaneous magnetisation, ferroelectrics are materials with a spontaneous electrical polarization that can be switched by an applied electric field. While ferroelectrics already have many well-established applications that exploit their superior piezoelectric, pyroelectric and dielectric properties, they are also actively studied as leading materials for the memory, transistors and memristive components in next generation low-power electronics and neuromorphic computing. These applications require ferroelectrics with dimensions at the nanoscale, where their properties change dramatically.At nanoscale, ferroelectrics exhibit complex exotic polarisation patterns with interesting topologies. Nanoscale ferroelectric domains are extremely responsive to external stimuli, leading to dramatic enhancements in dielectric properties. Perhaps even more excitingly, the domains walls, which locally break the symmetry of the bulk material, can host properties that are distinct from those of the domains that they separate, allowing them to act as functional entities in their own right. Our ability to create and destroy domains at will with electric fields makes them ideal for reconfigurable electronics, overturning the classic idea that our electronic circuits need to consist of fixed hardware components and leading to the emergence of the field of domain wall nanoelectronics.However, to harness their true potential there is a great deal of fundamental physics yet to uncover. As domain walls are usually only a few atoms thick and highly dynamic, it is essential to characterise them at the relevant spatial and temporal scale.This project will aim to investigate the physics of complex nanoscale polarisation patterns in ferroelectricthin films and superlattices, including their structure, response to applied stimuli and their effect on the functional properties of these materials.

通过与具有自发磁化的铁磁体类比，铁电体是具有可以通过施加的电场切换的自发电极化的材料。虽然铁电体已经有许多成熟的应用，利用其优越的上级压电，热电和介电性能，他们也积极研究作为领先的材料的存储器，晶体管和忆阻元件在下一代低功耗电子和神经形态计算。这些应用要求铁电体具有纳米尺度，在纳米尺度下，铁电体的性质发生显著变化。纳米尺度的铁电畴对外界的刺激有很强的响应性，从而显著提高了介电性能。也许更令人兴奋的是，畴壁局部打破了块状材料的对称性，可以拥有与它们分开的畴不同的特性，使它们能够以自己的方式作为功能实体。我们可以通过电场随意创造和破坏畴，这使得畴成为可重构电子学的理想材料，颠覆了电子电路必须由固定硬件组成的传统观念，并导致畴壁纳米电子学领域的出现。然而，要利用它们的真正潜力，还有大量的基础物理尚未发现。由于电畴壁通常只有数个原子厚，且具有高度动态性，因此必须在相关的空间和时间尺度上对其进行模拟。本项目旨在研究铁电薄膜和超晶格中复杂的纳米级极化模式的物理学，包括它们的结构、对外加刺激的响应以及它们对这些材料功能特性的影响。