Polarization-control of the potential barrier at the electrode interfaces in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

Ioana Pintilie; Cristian Mihail Teodorescu; Corneliu Ghica; Cristina Chirila; Andra Georgia Boni; Luminita Hrib; Iuliana Pasuk; Raluca Negrea; Nicoleta Apostol; Lucian Pintilie

doi:10.1021/am405508k

Polarization-control of the potential barrier at the electrode interfaces in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2014 Feb 26;6(4):2929-39. doi: 10.1021/am405508k. Epub 2014 Jan 29.

Authors

Ioana Pintilie¹, Cristian Mihail Teodorescu, Corneliu Ghica, Cristina Chirila, Andra Georgia Boni, Luminita Hrib, Iuliana Pasuk, Raluca Negrea, Nicoleta Apostol, Lucian Pintilie

Affiliation

¹ National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 105 bis, Magurele 077125, Romania.

PMID: 24446901
DOI: 10.1021/am405508k

Abstract

Electrode interface is a key element in controlling the macroscopic electrical properties of the ferroelectric capacitors based on thin films. In the case of epitaxial ferroelectrics, the electrode interface is essential in controlling the leakage current and the polarization switching, two important elements in the read/write processes of nonvolatile memories. However, the relation between the polarization bound charges and the electronic properties of the electrode interfaces is not yet well understood. Here we show that polarization charges are controlling the height of the potential barriers at the electrode interfaces in the case of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 and BaTiO3 epitaxial films. The results suggest that the height is set to a value allowing rapid compensation of the depolarization field during the polarization switching, being almost independent of the metals used for electrodes. This general behavior open a new perspective in engineering interface properties and designing new devices based on epitaxial ferroelectrics.