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Integration of ultrathin ferroelectric thin films with semiconductors is of interest for negative capacitance transistors that exhibit internal voltage gain, which may allow for scaling the supply voltage of low power circuits. In this study, BaTiO3 thin films were grown on doped SrTiO3 channels using molecular beam epitaxy. The BaTiO3 films are ferroelectric despite their low thickness (~10 nm). Parallel plate capacitor devices exhibit anti-clockwise hysteresis, and a comparison with reference structures without BaTiO3 shows that the polarization in the BaTiO3 thin films is switchable and controls the charge density in the channel. Field effect transistors were fabricated to study the effect of ferroelectricity on the transistor characteristics. Anti-clockwise hysteresis and a shift in threshold-voltage are observed in the output characteristics of the transistors. These properties make these heterostructures a suitable system for studying negative capacitance effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SmTiO3/SrTiO3 interfaces exhibit a two-dimensional electron system with carrier densities in the order of 3 × 1014 cm−2 due to the polar discontinuity at the interface. Here, electric field effect is used to investigate an electron system at this interface whose carrier density has been depleted substantially by the gate metal and by reducing the thickness of the SmTiO3. At zero applied gate voltage, the sheet resistance exceeds the quantum resistance, h/e2, by more than an order of magnitude, and the SrTiO3 channel is in the hopping transport regime. The electric field modulates the carrier density in the channel, which approaches the transition to a metal at positive gate bias. The channel resistances are found to scale by a single parameter that depends on the gate voltage, similar to two-dimensional electron systems in high-quality semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SmTiO3/SrTiO3 interfaces exhibit a two-dimensional electron system with carrier densities in the order of 3 × 1014 cm−2 due to the polar discontinuity at the interface. Here, electric field effect is used to investigate an electron system at this interface whose carrier density has been depleted substantially by the gate metal and by reducing the thickness of the SmTiO3. At zero applied gate voltage, the sheet resistance exceeds the quantum resistance, h/e2, by more than an order of magnitude, and the SrTiO3 channel is in the hopping transport regime. The electric field modulates the carrier density in the channel, which approaches the transition to a metal at positive gate bias. The channel resistances are found to scale by a single parameter that depends on the gate voltage, similar to two-dimensional electron systems in high-quality semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metal-to-insulator transition in BaTiO3 is investigated using electrostatic doping, which avoids effects from disorder and strain that would accompany chemical doping. SmTiO3/BaTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures are doped with a constant sheet carrier density of 3?1014??cm-2 that is introduced via the polar SmTiO3/BaTiO3 interface. Below a critical BaTiO3 thickness, the structures exhibit metallic behavior with high carrier mobilities at low temperatures, similar to SmTiO3/SrTiO3 interfaces. Above this thickness, data indicate that the BaTiO3 layer becomes ferroelectric. The BaTiO3 lattice parameters increase to a value consistent with a strained, tetragonal unit cell, the structures are insulating below ~125K, and the mobility drops by more than an order of magnitude, indicating self-trapping of carriers. The results shed light on the interplay between charge carriers and ferroelectricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]