Motivated by recent experimental observations, we explore electron transport properties of a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) with an embedded head-to-head ferroelectric domain wall, using first-principles density-functional theory calculations. We consider a FTJ with La0.5Sr0.5MnO3 electrodes separated by a BaTiO3 barrier layer and show that an in-plane charged domain wall in the ferroelectric BaTiO3 can be induced by polar interfaces. The resulting V-shaped electrostatic potential profile across the BaTiO3 layer creates a quantum well and leads to the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas, which stabilizes the domain wall. The confined electronic states in the barrier are responsible for resonant tunneling as is evident from our quantum-transport calculations. We find that the resonant tunneling is an orbital selective process, which leads to sharp spikes in the momentum- and energy-resolved transmission spectra. Our results indicate that domain walls embedded in FTJs can be used to control the electron transport.
%0 Journal Article
%1 li:2018:resonant
%A Li, M.
%A Tao, L. L.
%A Velev, J. P.
%A Tsymbal, E. Y.
%D 2018
%I American Physical Society
%J Phys. Rev. B
%K BaTiO3 DFT charged_domain_walls domain_walls theory
%N 15
%P 155121
%R 10.1103/PhysRevB.97.155121
%T Resonant tunneling across a ferroelectric domain wall
%U https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.155121
%V 97
%X Motivated by recent experimental observations, we explore electron transport properties of a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) with an embedded head-to-head ferroelectric domain wall, using first-principles density-functional theory calculations. We consider a FTJ with La0.5Sr0.5MnO3 electrodes separated by a BaTiO3 barrier layer and show that an in-plane charged domain wall in the ferroelectric BaTiO3 can be induced by polar interfaces. The resulting V-shaped electrostatic potential profile across the BaTiO3 layer creates a quantum well and leads to the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas, which stabilizes the domain wall. The confined electronic states in the barrier are responsible for resonant tunneling as is evident from our quantum-transport calculations. We find that the resonant tunneling is an orbital selective process, which leads to sharp spikes in the momentum- and energy-resolved transmission spectra. Our results indicate that domain walls embedded in FTJs can be used to control the electron transport.
@article{li:2018:resonant,
abstract = {Motivated by recent experimental observations, we explore electron transport properties of a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) with an embedded head-to-head ferroelectric domain wall, using first-principles density-functional theory calculations. We consider a FTJ with La0.5Sr0.5MnO3 electrodes separated by a BaTiO3 barrier layer and show that an in-plane charged domain wall in the ferroelectric BaTiO3 can be induced by polar interfaces. The resulting V-shaped electrostatic potential profile across the BaTiO3 layer creates a quantum well and leads to the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas, which stabilizes the domain wall. The confined electronic states in the barrier are responsible for resonant tunneling as is evident from our quantum-transport calculations. We find that the resonant tunneling is an orbital selective process, which leads to sharp spikes in the momentum- and energy-resolved transmission spectra. Our results indicate that domain walls embedded in FTJs can be used to control the electron transport.},
added-at = {2021-03-03T08:10:11.000+0100},
author = {Li, M. and Tao, L. L. and Velev, J. P. and Tsymbal, E. Y.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/261c6821ebc6264174a5932ee66a789cc/skoerbel},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevB.97.155121},
interhash = {da1ee5e7b2e98f3146194ed694867cfd},
intrahash = {61c6821ebc6264174a5932ee66a789cc},
journal = {Phys. Rev. B},
keywords = {BaTiO3 DFT charged_domain_walls domain_walls theory},
month = apr,
number = 15,
numpages = {7},
pages = 155121,
publisher = {American Physical Society},
timestamp = {2021-03-03T08:10:11.000+0100},
title = {Resonant tunneling across a ferroelectric domain wall},
url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.155121},
volume = 97,
year = 2018
}