Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors

Ping Wang; Haotian Ye; Rui Wang; Tao Wang; Fang Liu; Zhaoying Chen; Ding Wang; Bo Shen; Xinqiang Wang

doi:10.1088/1674-4926/26020013

J. Semicond. > Just Accepted

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors

Ping Wang^{1, 2,}, Haotian Ye^{1, 2}, Rui Wang^{1, 2}, Tao Wang^{1, 2}, Fang Liu^{1, 2}, Zhaoying Chen^{1, 2}, Ding Wang^{1, 2}, Bo Shen^{1, 2} and Xinqiang Wang^{1, 2,}

+ Author Affiliations

Corresponding author: Ping Wang, pingwang@pku.edu.cn; Xinqiang Wang, wangshi@pku.edu.cn

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020013CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020013

References

[1]	Chaudhuri R, Bader S J, Chen Z, et al. A polarization-induced 2D hole gas in undoped gallium nitride quantum wells. Science, 2019, 365(6460): 1454 doi: 10.1126/science.aau8623
[2]	Simon J, Protasenko V, Lian C X, et al. Polarization-induced hole doping in wide–band-gap uniaxial semiconductor heterostructures. Science, 2010, 327(5961): 60 doi: 10.1126/science.1183226
[3]	Amano H, Baines Y, Beam E, et al. The 2018 GaN power electronics roadmap. J Phys D: Appl Phys, 2018, 51(16): 163001 doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/aaaf9d
[4]	Li D, Liu S F, Qian Z Y, et al. Deep-ultraviolet micro-LEDs exhibiting high output power and high modulation bandwidth simultaneously. Adv Mater, 2022, 34(19): 2109765
[5]	Fichtner S, Wolff N, Lofink F, et al. AlScN: A III-V semiconductor based ferroelectric. J Appl Phys, 2019, 125(11): 114103 doi: 10.1063/1.5084945
[6]	Wang P, Wang D, Vu N M, et al. Fully epitaxial ferroelectric ScAlN grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Appl Phys Lett, 2021, 118(22): 223504 doi: 10.1063/5.0054539
[7]	Wang D, Wang D H, Molla M, et al. Electric-field-induced domain walls in wurtzite ferroelectrics. Nature, 2025, 641(8061): 76 doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08812-7
[8]	Ambacher O, Smart J, Shealy J R, et al. Two-dimensional electron gases induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization charges in N-and Ga-face AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. J Appl Phys, 1999, 85(6): 3222 doi: 10.1063/1.369664
[9]	King-Smith R D, Vanderbilt D. Theory of polarization of crystalline solids. Phys Rev B, 1993, 47(3): 1651 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.47.1651
[10]	Bernardini F, Fiorentini V, Vanderbilt D. Spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric constants of III-V nitrides. Phys Rev B, 1997, 56(16): R10024 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.56.R10024
[11]	Dreyer C E, Janotti A, Van de Walle C G, et al. Correct implementation of polarization constants in wurtzite materials and impact on III-nitrides. Phys Rev X, 2016, 6(2): 021038 doi: 10.1103/physrevx.6.021038
[12]	Wang D, Wang D H, Yang S, et al. Rethinking polarization in wurtzite semiconductors. Appl Phys Lett, 2024, 124(26): 263502 doi: 10.1063/5.0212653
[13]	Fichtner S, Yassine M, Van de Walle C G, et al. Clarification of the spontaneous polarization direction in crystals with wurtzite structure. Appl Phys Lett, 2024, 125(4): 040501 doi: 10.1063/5.0217301
[14]	Ye H T, Wang P, Wang R, et al. Experimental determination of giant polarization in wurtzite III-nitride semiconductors. Nat Commun, 2025, 16: 3863 doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58975-0
[15]	Wang J, Li Y Q, Wang R, et al. Unveiling interfacial dead layer in wurtzite ferroelectrics. Nat Commun, 2025, 16: 6069 doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61291-2
[16]	Yassine M, Yassine A, Nair A, et al. Modeling of polarization reversal-induced interface sheet charge in wurtzite-type AlScN/GaN heterostructures. J Appl Phys, 2024, 135(15): 155702 doi: 10.1063/5.0190885
[17]	Wang D, Wang P, Mondal S, et al. Ultrathin nitride ferroic memory with large ON/OFF ratios for analog in-memory computing. Adv Mater, 2023, 35(20): 2210628 doi: 10.1002/adma.202210628
[18]	Wang D, Wang P, He M M, et al. Fully epitaxial, monolithic ScAlN/AlGaN/GaN ferroelectric HEMT. Appl Phys Lett, 2023, 122(9): 090601 doi: 10.1063/5.0143645
[19]	Xie Z W, Jiang K, Zhang S L, et al. Nonvolatile and reconfigurable two-terminal electro-optic duplex memristor based on III-nitride semiconductors. Light Sci Appl, 2024, 13: 78 doi: 10.1038/s41377-024-01422-4
[20]	Wang R, Ye H T, Xu X F, et al. Composition-graded nitride ferroelectrics based multi-level non-volatile memory for neuromorphic computing. Adv Mater, 2025, 37(5): 2414805

Fig. 1. (Color online) Benchmarking polarization in wurtzite III-nitrides. (a) Crystal structure of III-nitrides in the WZ phase, together with the ZB and LH reference structure; (b) Multivalued formal polarization predicted by the MTP; (c) Formal polarization of WZ, ZB and LH III-nitrides with M-polar orientation (d > 0), taken from the “0” branch in (b); (d) Local polarization measured for M-polar and N-polar WZ ScAlN^[14]. (e) Compensated electric displacement field, which approximates polarization, and current density over external electric field for a 400 nm ScAlN film on p-Si^[13].

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

Fig. 2. (Color online) Polarizations and sheet carriers in GaN-based heterostructures within a unified polarization framework using the LH reference. (a) Net polarization bound charge and the corresponding sheet carrier density in ScAlN/GaN heterostructures before and after polarization switching^[14]. (b) Schematic comparison of polarization assignment in a ScAlN/GaN heterostructure using the ZB and LH references before and after polarization reversal^[16]. (c) Unified polarization picture for 2DEG and 2DHG formation in M-polar and N-polar AlN/GaN heterostructures^[12]. (d) Polarization and bound charge assignment in ferroelectric ScAlN/GaN heterostructures with varying Sc content^[14].

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

[1]	Chaudhuri R, Bader S J, Chen Z, et al. A polarization-induced 2D hole gas in undoped gallium nitride quantum wells. Science, 2019, 365(6460): 1454 doi: 10.1126/science.aau8623
[2]	Simon J, Protasenko V, Lian C X, et al. Polarization-induced hole doping in wide–band-gap uniaxial semiconductor heterostructures. Science, 2010, 327(5961): 60 doi: 10.1126/science.1183226
[3]	Amano H, Baines Y, Beam E, et al. The 2018 GaN power electronics roadmap. J Phys D: Appl Phys, 2018, 51(16): 163001 doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/aaaf9d
[4]	Li D, Liu S F, Qian Z Y, et al. Deep-ultraviolet micro-LEDs exhibiting high output power and high modulation bandwidth simultaneously. Adv Mater, 2022, 34(19): 2109765
[5]	Fichtner S, Wolff N, Lofink F, et al. AlScN: A III-V semiconductor based ferroelectric. J Appl Phys, 2019, 125(11): 114103 doi: 10.1063/1.5084945
[6]	Wang P, Wang D, Vu N M, et al. Fully epitaxial ferroelectric ScAlN grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Appl Phys Lett, 2021, 118(22): 223504 doi: 10.1063/5.0054539
[7]	Wang D, Wang D H, Molla M, et al. Electric-field-induced domain walls in wurtzite ferroelectrics. Nature, 2025, 641(8061): 76 doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08812-7
[8]	Ambacher O, Smart J, Shealy J R, et al. Two-dimensional electron gases induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization charges in N-and Ga-face AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. J Appl Phys, 1999, 85(6): 3222 doi: 10.1063/1.369664
[9]	King-Smith R D, Vanderbilt D. Theory of polarization of crystalline solids. Phys Rev B, 1993, 47(3): 1651 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.47.1651
[10]	Bernardini F, Fiorentini V, Vanderbilt D. Spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric constants of III-V nitrides. Phys Rev B, 1997, 56(16): R10024 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.56.R10024
[11]	Dreyer C E, Janotti A, Van de Walle C G, et al. Correct implementation of polarization constants in wurtzite materials and impact on III-nitrides. Phys Rev X, 2016, 6(2): 021038 doi: 10.1103/physrevx.6.021038
[12]	Wang D, Wang D H, Yang S, et al. Rethinking polarization in wurtzite semiconductors. Appl Phys Lett, 2024, 124(26): 263502 doi: 10.1063/5.0212653
[13]	Fichtner S, Yassine M, Van de Walle C G, et al. Clarification of the spontaneous polarization direction in crystals with wurtzite structure. Appl Phys Lett, 2024, 125(4): 040501 doi: 10.1063/5.0217301
[14]	Ye H T, Wang P, Wang R, et al. Experimental determination of giant polarization in wurtzite III-nitride semiconductors. Nat Commun, 2025, 16: 3863 doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58975-0
[15]	Wang J, Li Y Q, Wang R, et al. Unveiling interfacial dead layer in wurtzite ferroelectrics. Nat Commun, 2025, 16: 6069 doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61291-2
[16]	Yassine M, Yassine A, Nair A, et al. Modeling of polarization reversal-induced interface sheet charge in wurtzite-type AlScN/GaN heterostructures. J Appl Phys, 2024, 135(15): 155702 doi: 10.1063/5.0190885
[17]	Wang D, Wang P, Mondal S, et al. Ultrathin nitride ferroic memory with large ON/OFF ratios for analog in-memory computing. Adv Mater, 2023, 35(20): 2210628 doi: 10.1002/adma.202210628
[18]	Wang D, Wang P, He M M, et al. Fully epitaxial, monolithic ScAlN/AlGaN/GaN ferroelectric HEMT. Appl Phys Lett, 2023, 122(9): 090601 doi: 10.1063/5.0143645
[19]	Xie Z W, Jiang K, Zhang S L, et al. Nonvolatile and reconfigurable two-terminal electro-optic duplex memristor based on III-nitride semiconductors. Light Sci Appl, 2024, 13: 78 doi: 10.1038/s41377-024-01422-4
[20]	Wang R, Ye H T, Xu X F, et al. Composition-graded nitride ferroelectrics based multi-level non-volatile memory for neuromorphic computing. Adv Mater, 2025, 37(5): 2414805

Search

GET CITATION

shu

Export: BibTex EndNote

Article Metrics

Article views: 6 Times PDF downloads: 0 Times Cited by: 0 Times

History

Received: 06 February 2026 Revised: Online: Accepted Manuscript: 18 March 2026

Article Navigation > Journal of Semiconductors > 2026 > Accepted Manuscript

Ping Wang, Haotian Ye, Rui Wang, Tao Wang, Fang Liu, Zhaoying Chen, Ding Wang, Bo Shen, Xinqiang Wang. Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2026, In Press. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020013 ****P Wang, H T Ye, R Wang, T Wang, F Liu, Z Y Chen, D Wang, B Shen, and X Q Wang, Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020013

Citation:

Ping Wang, Haotian Ye, Rui Wang, Tao Wang, Fang Liu, Zhaoying Chen, Ding Wang, Bo Shen, Xinqiang Wang. Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2026, In Press. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020013 ****

P Wang, H T Ye, R Wang, T Wang, F Liu, Z Y Chen, D Wang, B Shen, and X Q Wang, Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020013

Citation:

PDF( 3068 KB)

Re-benchmarking polarization in wurtzite nitride semiconductors

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020013

CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020013

Ping Wang^{1, 2,},
Haotian Ye^{1, 2},
Rui Wang^{1, 2},
Tao Wang^{1, 2},
Fang Liu^{1, 2},
Zhaoying Chen^{1, 2},
Ding Wang^{1, 2},
Bo Shen^{1, 2},
Xinqiang Wang^{1, 2,}

1.
State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-Optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
2.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Nitride Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

More Information

Ping Wang is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physics at Peking University, where he has been since 2023. He received his B.S. degree from Tianjin University and his Ph.D. from Peking University. From 2018 to 2023, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research focuses on III-nitride semiconductors and emerging wurtzite nitride ferroelectric semiconductors
Xinqiang Wang is a full Professor in the School of Physics at Peking University, where he joined the faculty in 2008. He spent about six years in Japan as a postdoctoral researcher at Chiba University and later as a research scientist at Japan Science Technology Agency. His research focuses on III-nitride semiconductors, spanning epitaxial growth and device fabrication. He is a Fellow of Optica and a Fellow of the Chinese Optical Society (COS)
Corresponding author: pingwang@pku.edu.cn; wangshi@pku.edu.cn
Received Date: 2026-02-06
Available Online: 2026-03-18

Abstract

FullText(HTML)

References(20)