Abstract
Recently, ferroelectric tunnel junctions have attracted much attention due to their potential applications in non-destructive readout non-volatile memories. Using a semiconductor electrode has been proven effective to enhance the tunnelling electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions. Here we report a systematic investigation on electroresistance of Pt/BaTiO3/Nb:SrTiO3metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions by engineering the Schottky barrier on Nb:SrTiO3surface via varying BaTiO3thickness and Nb doping concentration. The optimum ON/OFF ratio as great as 6.0 × 106, comparable to that of commercial Flash memories, is achieved in a device with 0.1 wt% Nb concentration and a 4-unit-cell-thick BaTiO3barrier. With this thinnest BaTiO3barrier, which shows a negligible resistance to the tunnelling current but is still ferroelectric, the device is reduced to a polarization-modulated metal/semiconductor Schottky junction that exhibits a more efficient control on the tunnelling resistance to produce the giant electroresistance observed. These results may facilitate the design of high performance non-volatile resistive memories.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 15217 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 17 May 2017 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy