Credit: Yang et al. (Nature Electronics, 2023).
In recent years, engineers have attempted to come up with alternative hardware designs that would allow a single device to perform calculations and store data. These emerging electronic devices, known as in-memory computing devices, could provide many benefits, including faster speeds and improved data analysis capabilities.
To store data securely and keep power consumption low, these devices must be based on ferroelectric materials with advantageous properties and can be reduced in terms of thickness. Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors that exhibit a property known as sliding ferroelectricity have proven to be promising candidates for performing in-memory computing, but achieving the necessary switchable electrical polarization in these materials can be difficult.
Researchers from National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and National Cheng Kung University recently developed an effective strategy to achieve switchable electrical polarization in molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Using this method, described in a Natural electronics paper, they ultimately developed promising new ferroelectric transistors for in-memory computing applications.
“We accidentally discovered many parallel distributed domain boundaries in our MoS.2 flakes, coinciding with the time when experimental confirmation of sliding ferroelectricity in 2D materials was reported,” Tilo H Yang, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. “This discovery prompted us to ask if this rich in MoS domain boundaries2 can be used for the development of ferroelectric memory.
The main goal of the recent study by Yang and co-workers was to identify a promising method to directly synthesize epitaxial MoS.2 with sliding ferroelectricity. The manufacturing strategy they identified ultimately allowed them to create promising new ferroelectric transistors with advantageous characteristics.
“An important step in the manufacturing of our ferroelectric transistors is the implementation of 3R-MoS2 channel in a switchable ferroelectric material during the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth process,” Yang explained. “The formation of domain boundaries in 3R-MoS2 films must possess the ability to change polarized domain; however, this is rare in most epitaxial 3R MoS2 movies. In the paper, we presented a synthesis strategy aimed at increasing the chances of domain boundaries appearing in the material, thereby giving it the capability of domain inversion in response to gate voltage. »
The researchers evaluated their ferroelectric transistors in a series of initial tests and found that they performed well, exhibiting an average memory window of 7 V with an applied voltage of 10 V, retention times above 10 V.4 seconds and endurance greater than 104cycles. These results highlight their potential for in-memory computing applications.
“Our ferroelectric semiconductor transistors feature non-volatility, reprogrammability and sliding ferroelectricity at low switching fields, leveraging shear transformation-induced dislocations in our 3R MoS.2 “, said Yang. “With a thickness of about two atomic layers, the device is a promising component that can meet the requirements of cutting-edge CMOS technology, for example, sub-3nm nodes.”
In the future, the fabrication strategy proposed by Yang and colleagues could be used to synthesize other promising 2D semiconductor materials with sliding ferroelectricity. These materials could in turn be used to create new high-performance in-memory computing devices, contributing to future advances in electronics.
“Our work proved the switching ability of epitaxially slip ferroelectric materials and the applicability of this newly discovered physical property in terms of memory,” added Yang and Yann-Wen Lan. “Our epitaxial films show great potential for the development of large-scale, high-throughput memory devices. With a better understanding of the correlation between switching mechanisms and domain microstructures, we are now moving forward to develop high switching speed and long retention memory.”.
More information:
Tilo H. Yang et al, Ferroelectric transistors based on rhombohedral stacked molybdenum disulfide mediated shear transformation, Natural electronics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-023-01073-0
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