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Synthesis and Applications of Ferroelectric Thin Films

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2022) | Viewed by 5089

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Centre of Physics of University of Minho and Porto (CF-UM-UP), Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: thin films; lead-free perovskite ferroelectrics; (pseudo-)binary oxide thin films; PVD techniques; energy storage; non-volatile memories
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Because of their robust spontaneous electrical polarization, ferroelectric thin films are essential components in a wide range of well-known applications, such as non-volatile memories, radio frequency and microwave devices, and sensors and actuators. Recently, several promising developments in the use of ferroelectric thin films in new applications have been reported, covering different areas such as energy harvesting and storage, photocatalysis, photovoltaics, tunnel junctions, and memristors, among others. Therefore, interest in ferroelectric thin films is continuously on the rise, both from fundamental science and application-oriented research perspectives. However, discovering new ferroelectric materials and improving the performance of existing ferroelectric thin films in device applications remains crucial in the development of new functional materials, while finding innovative syntheses and improving existing ones, towards finding new technological solutions that impact the cost-efficiency relationship.

For instance, the unavoidable drawbacks that obstruct the progress of device integration of conventional ferroelectric thin films, such as poor complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility, the toxicity of lead-based materials like PZT, and the degradation of macroscopic properties in ultrathin perovskite ferroelectric films, which is detrimental to increasing high storage density, seem to have become outdated due to the unexpected discovery of ferroelectricity in hafnium oxide-based thin films.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of ferroelectricity, this Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview and the most recent advances in topics related to the synthesis and applications of ferroelectric thin films. Therefore, we invite contributions that identify novel synthesis approaches of ferroelectric thin films, with improved functional properties that are precisely tailored to offer unique advantages to be used in specific applications.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Jose P. B. Silva
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • lead-free ferroelectrics
  • thin films
  • synthesis methods
  • novel functionalities and applications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

6 pages, 3675 KiB  
Article
Low-Frequency Noise Characteristics in HfO2-Based Metal-Ferroelectric-Metal Capacitors
by Ki-Sik Im, Seungheon Shin, Chan-Hee Jang and Ho-Young Cha
Materials 2022, 15(21), 7475; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217475 - 25 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1850
Abstract
The transport mechanism of HfO2-based metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitors was investigated using low-frequency noise (LFN) measurements for the first time. The current–voltage measurement results revealed that the leakage behavior of the fabricated MFM capacitor was caused by the trap-related Poole–Frenkel transport mechanism, [...] Read more.
The transport mechanism of HfO2-based metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitors was investigated using low-frequency noise (LFN) measurements for the first time. The current–voltage measurement results revealed that the leakage behavior of the fabricated MFM capacitor was caused by the trap-related Poole–Frenkel transport mechanism, which was confirmed by the LFN measurements. The current noise power spectral densities (SI) obtained from the LFN measurements followed 1/f noise shapes and exhibited a constant electric field (E) × SI/I2 noise behavior. No polarization dependency was observed in the transport characteristics of the MFM capacitor owing to its structural symmetry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Ferroelectric Thin Films)
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9 pages, 3419 KiB  
Article
Stabilization of Ferroelectric Phase in Highly Oriented Quinuclidinium Perrhenate (HQReO4) Thin Films
by Junyoung Lee, Woojun Seol, Gopinathan Anoop, Shibnath Samanta, Sanjith Unithrattil, Dante Ahn, Woochul Kim, Gunyoung Jung and Jiyoung Jo
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2126; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092126 - 22 Apr 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2272
Abstract
The low-temperature processability of molecular ferroelectric (FE) crystals makes them a potential alternative for perovskite oxide-based ferroelectric thin films. Quinuclidinium perrhenate (HQReO4) is one such molecular FE crystal that exhibits ferroelectricity when crystallized in an intermediate temperature phase (ITP). However, bulk [...] Read more.
The low-temperature processability of molecular ferroelectric (FE) crystals makes them a potential alternative for perovskite oxide-based ferroelectric thin films. Quinuclidinium perrhenate (HQReO4) is one such molecular FE crystal that exhibits ferroelectricity when crystallized in an intermediate temperature phase (ITP). However, bulk HQReO4 crystals exhibit ferroelectricity only for a narrow temperature window (22 K), above and below which the polar phase transforms to a non-FE phase. The FE phase or ITP of HQReO4 should be stabilized in a much wider temperature range for practical applications. Here, to stabilize the FE phase (ITP) in a wider temperature range, highly oriented thin films of HQReO4 were prepared using a simple solution process. A slow evaporation method was adapted for drying the HQReO4 thin films to control the morphology and the temperature window. The temperature window of the intermediate temperature FE phase was successfully widened up to 35 K by merely varying the film drying temperature between 333 and 353 K. The strategy of stabilizing the FE phase in a wider temperature range can be adapted to other molecular FE materials to realize flexible electronic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Ferroelectric Thin Films)
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