Thinnest ferroelectric material ever paves the way for new energy-efficient devices

https://phys.org/news/2022-10-thinnest-ferroelectric-material-paves-energy-efficient.html

"stable ferroelectricity in ultrathin layer of zirconium dioxide half nanometer thick... 200,000 times thinner than a human hair. The team grew this material directly on silicon. They found ferroelectricity emerges in zirconium dioxide—normally a nonferroelectric material—when it is grown extremely thin, approximately 1-2 nanometers in thickness... ferroelectric behavior continues to its near-atomic-scale thickness limit half nanometer... switc polarization with small voltage"

Related: A theoretical approach to ferroelectricity in hafnia-related materials

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-theoretical-approach-ferroelectricity-hafnia-related-materials.html