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Temperature- and thickness-dependence of robust out-of-plane ferroelectricity in CVD grown ultrathin van der Waals α-In2Se3 layers

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Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric materials with unique structure and extraordinary optoelectrical properties have attracted intensive research in the field of nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices, such as optical sensors, transistors, photovoltaics and non-volatile memory devices. However, the transition temperature of the reported ferroelectrics in 2D limit is generally low or slightly above room temperature, hampering their applications in high-temperature electronic devices. Here, we report the robust high-temperature ferroelectricity in 2D α-In2Se3, grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), exhibiting an out-of-plane spontaneous polarization reaching above 200 °C. The polarization switching and ferroelectric domains are observed in In2Se3 nanoflakes in a wide temperature range. The coercive field of the CVD grown ferroelectric layers illustrates a room-temperature thickness dependency and increases drastically when the film thickness decreases; whereas there is no large variance in the coercive field at different temperature from the samples with identical thickness. The results show the stable ferroelectricity of In2Se3 nanoflakes maintained at high temperature and open up the opportunities of 2D materials for novel applications in high-temperature nanoelectronic devices.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the grant from Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (GRF No. PolyU 153033/17P).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Weng Fu Io, Shuoguo Yuan, Sin Yi Pang, Lok Wing Wong, Jiong Zhao & Jianhua Hao

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  1. Weng Fu Io
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Correspondence to Jianhua Hao.

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12274_2020_2640_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Temperature- and thickness-dependence of robust out-of-plane ferroelectricity in CVD grown ultrathin van der Waals α-In2Se3 layers

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Io, W.F., Yuan, S., Pang, S.Y. et al. Temperature- and thickness-dependence of robust out-of-plane ferroelectricity in CVD grown ultrathin van der Waals α-In2Se3 layers. Nano Res. 13, 1897–1902 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2640-0

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