Flexible, Fatigue-Free, and Large-Scale Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 Ferroelectric Memories

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 Jun 27;10(25):21428-21433. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b04781. Epub 2018 Jun 13.

Abstract

Flexible, fatigue-free, large-scale, and nonvolatile memory is an emerging technological goal in a variety of fields, including electronic skins, wearable devices, and other flexible electronics. Perovskite oxide films deposited on rigid substrates (e.g., Si and SrTiO3) at 500-700 °C and >1.0 Pa oxygen ambience have been widely used in electronic industries. However, their applications in flexible electronics are challenging, if not impossible. Here, the Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 ferroelectric films with SrRuO3 or Pt electrodes were prepared on the two-dimensional mica substrates, and then the flexible Pt/SrRuO3/Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12/Pt memories have been achieved through reducing the mica to ∼10 μm thickness. These memories show the saturated polarization of Ps ∼ 20 μC/cm2, and either the <1% bending strain or a normal light illumination hardly overcomes the potential barrier among different polarizations which originate from the noncentral symmetry of the atomic structure. As a result, they can undergo 109 write/erase cycles and/or 10000 times bending with 1.4 mm in radius without any fatigue or damage. Furthermore, they can withstand the operation at 20-200 °C or under light illumination. In short, these flexible oxide memories provide comprehensive performance for industrial applications.

Keywords: fatigue free; ferroelectric memories; flexible electronics; large scale; perovskite oxide films.