In this letter, we simulate electronic transport through a metal-ferroelectric-metal tunnel junction by use of a nonequilibrium Green's function approach. We show that quantum effects such as Friedel oscillations lead to deviations from the Thomas-Fermi screening model. As a consequence, we predict a bistable resistive switching effect, depending on the polarization state of the ferroelectric tunnel barrier.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0503070,
title = {Simulation of quantum dead-layers in ferroelectric tunnel junctions},
author = {K. M. Indlekofer and H. Kohlstedt},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0503070},
year = {2007}
}