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Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) have great potential in the design of non-volatile memory devices due to the tunneling electroresistance (TER) effect and the fact that it is not constrained by critical thickness. Incorporation of 2D ferroelectric materials in realistic FTJs inevitably involves the contacts to the traditional three-dimensional (3D) metals. However, how to design the FTJs by combining the 2D ferroelectric materials with the 3D metals still needs to be studied. In this work, we design a vertical 3D FTJ by adopting the 3D metal Au as the left and right electrodes and the 2D ferroelectric material In2Se3 together with h-BN as the central scattering region. By density functional theory combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method, we demonstrate that the h-BN intercalation with a large bandgap plays the role of good "insulator," which breaks the symmetry of the left and right electrodes. As a result, we obtain the TER ratio of about 170%, and it can be further improved to about 1200% if two layers of In2Se3 (2L-In2Se3) are adopted as the tunneling barrier layer. Our results provide another way for the design and application of ferroelectric memory devices based on 2D ferroelectric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric materials exhibit significant potential for applications in nonvolatile memory and device miniaturization. In the device design stage, it is essential to consider the compatibility between 2D ferroelectric materials and three-dimensional (3D) metal. However, the interface between them introduces complex interactions that could impact the device's performance. In this work, based on the first-principles method, we simulate several 3D metal–2D ferroelectric material contact systems by utilizing different 3D metals in contact with the 2D ferroelectric monolayer CuInP2S6 (CIPS). By calculating the electronic structures of the systems, we find that the Cd(001)–CIPS configuration is the most stable structure, followed by the Ag(111)–CIPS and Au(111)–CIPS systems. Both the Cd(001)–CIPS and Ag(111)–CIPS systems undergo a transition from Schottky to Ohmic contact. Finally, we theoretically design a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) based on the Cd(001)–CIPS contact system, achieving a tunneling electroresistance ratio of 2.394 × 10 5 % and a remarkably low resistance–area product of 0.78 Ω · μ m2, which makes the proposed FTJ superior to the conventional 3D FTJ. This work provides some insights for the design of nonvolatile storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose that the double barrier effect is expected to enhance the tunneling electroresistance (TER) in the ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs). To demonstrate the feasibility of this mechanism, we design a model structure of Pt/BaTiO3/LaAlO3/Pt/BaTiO3/LaAlO3/Pt double barrier ferroelectric tunnel junction (DB-FTJ), which can be considered as two identical Pt/BaTiO3/LaAlO3/Pt single barrier ferroelectric tunnel junctions (SB-FTJs) connected in series. Based on density functional calculation, we obtain the giant TER ratio of 2.210 × 108% in the DB-FTJ, which is at least three orders of magnitude larger than that of the SB-FTJs of Pt/BaTiO3/LaAlO3/Pt, together with an ultra-low resistance area product (0.093 KΩμm2) in the high conductance state of the DB-FTJ. Moreover, it is possible to control the direction of polarization of the two single ferroelectric barriers separately and thus four resistance states can be achieved, making DB-FTJs promising as multi-state memory devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]