Researchers from the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering of Ninbo (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with scientists from the University of Electronic Sciences and Technologies of China and the University of Fudan, have unveiled a new ferroelectric material based on sliding ferroelectricity. Their findings were recently published in the journal science.
Ferroelectric materials are known for their ability to switch spontaneous polarization when subjected to an external electric field, making them highly sought after for use in energy-dependent memory devices, sensors, and energy transforming devices.
Conventional ferroelectric materials often suffer from the effects of fatigue polarization, which deteriorates their performance over time as the number of polarization switching cycles increases. This phenomenon ultimately leads to device failure, limiting their practical application.
To combat this issue, the researchers developed a fatigue-free system based on sliding ferroelectricity. They created a two-layer 3r-mos2 dual shutter using a chemical transport pair method.
Following 106 switching cycles with varying pulses ranging from 1 ms to 100 ms, it was observed that the ferroelectric polarization exhibited no loss of activity, indicating the preservation of its memory function.
When compared to commercial ferroelectric devices, the new device displayed an impressive endurance time of 105 seconds under an electric field stress, highlighting its robustness.
Utilizing a new model approach based on machine learning, theoretical calculations suggested that the absence of fatigue in sliding ferroelectricity is linked to immobile charged defects.
This groundbreaking research offers an innovative solution to the performance degradation commonly seen in traditional ferroelectric materials, paving the way for their enhanced application across various fields.