Zigzag domain walls unravel the polarization switching puzzle in wurtzite ferroelectrics

Hang Zang; Zhiming Shi; Xiaojuan Sun; Dabing Li

doi:10.1088/1674-4926/26020035

J. Semicond. > Just Accepted

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Zigzag domain walls unravel the polarization switching puzzle in wurtzite ferroelectrics

Hang Zang^{1, 2}, Zhiming Shi^{1, 2,}, Xiaojuan Sun^{1, 2,} and Dabing Li^{1, 2,}

+ Author Affiliations

1. State Key Laboratory of Luminescence Science and Technology, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, China
2. Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Author Bio:

Hang Zang received his doctoral degree in 2018 from the University of Science and Technology of China. He is an associate researcher at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP). His research focuses on first-principles calculations of nitride semiconductor materials, investigating their optoelectronic and ferroelectric properties.

Zhiming Shi received his doctoral degree in 2014 from Jilin University. He is a professor at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP). His research focuses on defect physics and transport physics in semiconductors, as well as developing inverse material design algorithms for optoelectronic materials.

Xiaojuan Sun received her doctoral degree in Condensed Matter Physics from the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). She is a professor at CIOMP, CAS. Her research focuses on the physics of III-nitride materials and optoelectronic devices.

Dabing Li received his doctoral degree in 2004 from the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He is a professor at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP), CAS. His research interests include the physics of III-nitride materials and optoelectronic devices.

Corresponding author: Zhiming Shi, shizm@ciomp.ac.cn; Xiaojuan Sun, sunxj@eitech.edu.cn; Dabing Li, lidb@ciomp.ac.cn

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020035CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020035

References

[1]	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
[2]	Dawber M, Rabe K M, Scott J F. Physics of thin-film ferroelectric oxides. Rev Mod Phys, 2005, 77(4): 1083 doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.77.1083
[3]	Kim K H, Karpov I, Olsson R H III, et al. Wurtzite and fluorite ferroelectric materials for electronic memory. Nat Nanotechnol, 2023, 18(5): 422 doi: 10.1038/s41565-023-01361-y
[4]	Calderon S V, Hayden J, Baksa S M, et al. Atomic-scale polarization switching in wurtzite ferroelectrics. Science, 2023, 380(6649): 1034 doi: 10.1126/science.adh7670
[5]	Huang J W, Li J Y, Guo X Y, et al. Atomistic structure of transient switching states in ferroelectric AlScN. Phys Rev Lett, 2026, 136(2): 026801 doi: 10.1103/lfdh-86x6
[6]	Northrup J E, Neugebauer J, Romano L T. Inversion domain and stacking mismatch boundaries in GaN. Phys Rev Lett, 1996, 77(1): 103 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.103

Fig. 1. (Color online) Zigzag domain walls as the origin of apparent transitional regions. (a) Schematic of an intrinsically three-dimensional zigzag 180° inversion domain boundary (IDB*) in AlScN. (b) Its 2D projection along typical STEM viewing directions. Overlapping metal-polar and nitrogen-polar domains create an apparent broad transitional region, mimicking a nonpolar intermediate phase.

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[1]	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
[2]	Dawber M, Rabe K M, Scott J F. Physics of thin-film ferroelectric oxides. Rev Mod Phys, 2005, 77(4): 1083 doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.77.1083
[3]	Kim K H, Karpov I, Olsson R H III, et al. Wurtzite and fluorite ferroelectric materials for electronic memory. Nat Nanotechnol, 2023, 18(5): 422 doi: 10.1038/s41565-023-01361-y
[4]	Calderon S V, Hayden J, Baksa S M, et al. Atomic-scale polarization switching in wurtzite ferroelectrics. Science, 2023, 380(6649): 1034 doi: 10.1126/science.adh7670
[5]	Huang J W, Li J Y, Guo X Y, et al. Atomistic structure of transient switching states in ferroelectric AlScN. Phys Rev Lett, 2026, 136(2): 026801 doi: 10.1103/lfdh-86x6
[6]	Northrup J E, Neugebauer J, Romano L T. Inversion domain and stacking mismatch boundaries in GaN. Phys Rev Lett, 1996, 77(1): 103 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.103