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.

与具有自发磁化强度的铁磁体类比，铁电体是具有自发电极化的材料，可以通过施加的电场来切换。虽然铁电材料已经有许多成熟的应用，利用其卓越的压电、热电和介电特性，但它们也作为下一代低功耗电子和神经形态计算中的存储器、晶体管和忆阻元件的领先材料进行了积极的研究。这些应用需要具有纳米级尺寸的铁电体，其特性会发生巨大变化。在纳米级，铁电体表现出复杂的奇异极化模式和有趣的拓扑结构。纳米级铁电域对外部刺激极其敏感，导致介电性能显着增强。也许更令人兴奋的是，局部打破散装材料对称性的域壁可以拥有与它们所分离的域不同的属性，从而使它们能够凭借自己的能力充当功能实体。我们利用电场随意创建和破坏域的能力使它们成为可重构电子学的理想选择，颠覆了我们的电子电路需要由固定硬件组件组成的经典想法，并导致了畴壁纳米电子学领域的出现。要充分利用它们的真正潜力，还有大量的基础物理学有待发现。由于磁畴壁通常只有几个原子厚且高度动态，因此有必要在相关的空间和时间尺度上表征它们。该项目旨在研究铁电薄膜和超晶格中复杂纳米级极化模式的物理特性，包括它们的结构、对施加刺激的响应及其对这些材料功能特性的影响。