Journal Article

Ferroelectric transistors based on shear-transformation-mediated rhombohedral-stacked molybdenum disulfide

Chen, Fu-Xiang, Chen, Yi-Chun, Hu, Hsiang-Chi, Lu, Ting-Hua, Kuo, Yi-Hao, Yang, Liu, Lo, Han-Chieh, Yang, Tilo H., Chang, Yu-Chen, Lan, Yann-Wen, Chen, Yi-Cheng, Ku, Yu-Seng, Chang, Alice Chinghsuan, Wu, Menghao, Lin, Chun-Liang, Lee, Min-Hung, Liang, Bor-Wei, Lin, Po-Yen, Simbulan, Kristan Bryan, Luo, Zhao-Feng, Chen, Jyun-Hong, Chang, Wen-Hao, Kuo, Tzu-Hao, Chiang, Yu-Fan, Huang, You-Jia, Ho, Sheng-Zhu, Li, Kai-Shin

2024

Overview

To develop low-power, non-volatile computing-in-memory device using ferroelectric transistor technologies, ferroelectric channel materials with scaled thicknesses are required. Two-dimensional semiconductors, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), equipped with sliding ferroelectricity could provide an answer. However, achieving switchable electric polarization in epitaxial MoS 2 remains challenging due to the absence of mobile domain boundaries. Here we show that polarity-switchable epitaxial rhombohedral-stacked (3R) MoS 2 can be used as a ferroelectric channel in ferroelectric memory transistors. We show that a shear transformation can spontaneously occur in 3R MoS 2 epilayers, producing heterostructures with stable ferroelectric domains embedded in a highly dislocated and unstable non-ferroelectric matrix. This diffusionless phase transformation process produces mobile screw dislocations that enable collective polarity control of 3R MoS 2 via an electric field. Polarization–electric-field measurements reveal a switching field of 0.036 V nm −1 for shear-transformed 3R MoS 2 . Our sliding ferroelectric transistors are non-volatile memory units with thicknesses of only two atomic layers and exhibit an average memory window of 7 V with an applied voltage of 10 V, retention times greater than 10 4  seconds and endurance greater than 10 4 cycles. Rhombohedral-stacked molybdenum disulfide with sliding ferroelectric behaviour can be used to create atomically thin ferroelectric transistors for computing-in-memory device applications.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 639/301/1005/1007 / 639/301/357/1018 / Computation / Dislocation mobility / Electric fields / Electric polarization / Electrical Engineering / Engineering / Ferroelectric domains / Ferroelectric materials / Ferroelectricity / Ferroelectrics / Heterostructures / Low dimensional semiconductors / Memory devices / Microscopy / Molybdenum / Molybdenum disulfide / Phase transitions / Polarity / Screw dislocations / Shear / Sliding / Thickness / Transistors