Probing near-interface ferroelectricity by conductance modulation of a nano-granular metal

Abstract

The electronic functionality of thin films is governed by their interfaces. This is very important for the ferroelectric (FE) state which depends on thin-film clamping and interfacial charge transfer. Here we show that in a heterostructure consisting of a nano-granular metal and an organic FE layer of [tetrathiafulvalene]${}^{+\delta }$[p-chloranil]${}^{-\delta }$ the nano-granular layer's conductance provides a sensitive and non-invasive probe of the temperature-dependent dielectric properties of the FE layer. We provide a theoretical framework that is able to qualitatively reproduce the observed conductance changes taking the anisotropy of the dielectric anomaly at the paraelectric(PE)-FE phase transition into account. The approach is also suitable for observing dynamical effects close to the phase transition. Focused electron beam induced deposition as fabrication method for the nano-granular metal guarantees excellent down-scaling capabilities, so that monitoring the FE state on the lateral scale down to 20--30\,nm can be envisioned.

References in corpus (4)

• Field-induced carrier delocalization in the strain-induced Mott insulating state of an organic superconductor
• Dielectric sensing by charging energy modulation in a nano-granular metal
• Interplay of ferroelectricity and single electron tunneling
• Electron Transport Properties of Composite Ferroelectrics

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Focused electron beam induced deposition meets materials science
• Comparing charge transfer tuning effects by chemical substitution and uniaxial pressure in the organic charge transfer complex tetramethoxypyrene-tetracyanoquinodimethane
• Influence of image forces on the electron transport in ferroelectric tunnel junctions
• Microscopic theory of the Coulomb based exchange coupling in magnetic tunnel junctions
• Conductance of a SET with a retarded dielectric layer in the gate capacitor