Rectifying semiconductor junctions are crucial to electronic devices. They convert alternating current into direct one by allowing unidirectional charge flows. In analogy to the current-flow rectification for itinerary electrons, here, a polar rectification that based on the localized oxygen vacancies (OVs) in a Ti/fatigued-SrTiO3 (fSTO) Schottky junction is first demonstrated. The fSTO with OVs is produced by an electro-degradation process. The different movability of localized OVs and itinerary electrons in the fSTO yield a unidirectional electric polarization at the interface of the junction under the coaction of external and built-in electric fields. Moreover, the fSTO displays a pre-ferroelectric state located between paraelectric and ferroelectric phases. The pre-ferroelectric state has three sub-states and can be easily driven into a ferroelectric state by external electric field. These observations open up opportunities for potential polar devices and may underpin many useful polar-triggered electronic phenomena.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2003.03244,
title = {Polar Rectification Effect in Electro-Fatigued SrTiO3 Based Junctions},
author = {Xueli Xu and Hui Zhang and Zhicheng Zhong and Ranran zhang and Lihua Yin and Yuping Sun and Haoliang Huang and Yalin Lu and Yi Lu and Chun Zhou and Zongwei Ma and Lei Shen and Junsong Wang and Jiandong Guo and Jirong Sun and Zhigao Sheng},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.03244},
year = {2020}
}