Credit: Yang et al. (Nature Electronics, 2023).
Engineers have been hard at work developing computing-in-memory devices that can both perform computations and store data. These new electronics have the potential to offer faster speeds and enhanced data analysis capabilities.
For these devices to be efficient, they must be based on ferroelectric materials with scalable thickness and favorable properties. Researchers have found that 2D semiconductors with sliding ferroelectricity could be the answer. However, achieving the necessary switchable electric polarization in these materials has been a challenge.
A team from National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and National Cheng Kung University may have found a solution. Their method, outlined in a Nature Electronics paper, effectively achieved a switchable electric polarization in molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), leading to the development of new ferroelectric transistors for computing-in-memory applications.
“We were inspired to consider whether this domain-boundary-rich MoS2 can be utilized for the development of ferroelectric memory,” explained Tilo H Yang, co-author of the paper.
The primary objective of the recent study by Yang and his colleagues was to identify a promising method to directly synthesize epitaxial MoS2 with sliding ferroelectricity. The fabrication strategy they identified ultimately allowed them to create promising new ferroelectric transistors with advantageous characteristics.
“An important stage in the fabrication of our ferroelectric transistors is setting up the 3R-MoS2 channel into a switchable ferroelectric material during the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth process,” Yang explained.
The researchers evaluated their ferroelectric transistors in a series of initial tests and found that they performed well, showcasing potential for computing-in-memory applications.
“Our ferroelectric semiconductor transistors feature non-volatility, reprogrammability, and low switching fields sliding ferroelectricity,” Yang said.
In the future, the fabrication strategy proposed by Yang and his colleagues could be used to synthesize other promising 2D semiconducting materials with sliding ferroelectricity.