We demonstrate ferroelectricity in Mg-substituted ZnO thin films with the wurtzite structure. Zn1−xMgxO films are grown by dual-cathode reactive magnetron sputtering on (111)-Pt // (0001)-Al2O3 substrates at temperatures ranging from 26 to 200 °C for compositions spanning from x = 0 to x = 0.37. X-ray diffraction indicates a decrease in the c-lattice parameter and an increase in the a-lattice parameter with increasing Mg content, resulting in a nearly constant c/a axial ratio of 1.595 over this composition range. Transmission electron microscopy studies show abrupt interfaces between Zn1−xMgxO films and the Pt electrode. When prepared at pO2 = 0.025, film surfaces are populated by abnormally oriented grains as measured by atomic force microscopy for Mg concentrations >29%. Raising pO2 to 0.25 eliminates the misoriented grains. Optical measurements show increasing bandgap values with increasing Mg content. When prepared on a 200 °C substrate, films display ferroelectric switching with remanent polarizations exceeding 100 μC cm−2 and coercive fields below 3 MV cm−1 when the Mg content is between ∼30% and ∼37%. Substrate temperature can be lowered to ambient conditions, and when doing so, capacitor stacks show only minor sacrifices to crystal orientation and nearly identical remanent polarization values; however, coercive fields drop below 2 MV/cm. Using ambient temperature deposition, we demonstrate ferroelectric capacitor stacks integrated directly with polymer substrate surfaces.
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28 July 2021
Research Article|
July 22 2021
Ferroelectrics everywhere: Ferroelectricity in magnesium substituted zinc oxide thin films
Kevin Ferri
;
Kevin Ferri
a)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
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Saiphaneendra Bachu
;
Saiphaneendra Bachu
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Wanlin Zhu
;
Wanlin Zhu
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Mario Imperatore
;
Mario Imperatore
2
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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John Hayden
;
John Hayden
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Nasim Alem;
Nasim Alem
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Noel Giebink
;
Noel Giebink
2
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Susan Trolier-McKinstry
;
Susan Trolier-McKinstry
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Jon-Paul Maria
Jon-Paul Maria
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
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Kevin Ferri
1,a)
Saiphaneendra Bachu
1
Wanlin Zhu
1
Mario Imperatore
2
John Hayden
1
Nasim Alem
1
Noel Giebink
2
Susan Trolier-McKinstry
1
Jon-Paul Maria
1
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
2
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
J. Appl. Phys. 130, 044101 (2021)
Article history
Received:
April 10 2021
Accepted:
July 03 2021
Citation
Kevin Ferri, Saiphaneendra Bachu, Wanlin Zhu, Mario Imperatore, John Hayden, Nasim Alem, Noel Giebink, Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Jon-Paul Maria; Ferroelectrics everywhere: Ferroelectricity in magnesium substituted zinc oxide thin films. J. Appl. Phys. 28 July 2021; 130 (4): 044101. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0053755
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