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Ferroelectricity and tunneling electroresistance effect in asymmetric ferroelectric tunnel junctions

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4953642· OSTI ID:22596784

We report the investigation on the ferroelectricity and tunneling electroresistance (TER) effect in PbTiO{sub 3} (PTO)-based ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) using first-principles calculations. For symmetric FTJs, we have calculated the average polarizations of PTO film and effective screening lengths of different metal electrodes for a number of FTJs, which is useful for experimental research. For asymmetric FTJs, significant asymmetric ferroelectric displacements in PTO film are observed, which is attributed to the intrinsic field generated by the two dissimilar electrodes. Moreover, by performing quantum transport calculations on those asymmetric FTJs, a sizable TER effect is observed. It is found that the asymmetry of ferroelectric displacements in PTO barrier, which is determined by the difference of work functions of the electrodes, controls the observed TER effect. Our results will help unravel the TER mechanism of asymmetric FTJs in most experiments and will be useful for the designing of FTJ-based devices.

OSTI ID:
22596784
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 119; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English