Emerging Materials
Fabrication and characterization of ferroelectric and 2D films.
Piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical to electrical energy (and vice-versa) are widely used in medical ultrasound imaging, microphones, and precision MEMS resonators for RF communication. A subset of these, dubbed ferroelectric materials, can hold an electrical polarization charge when mechanical stress or electrical bias is removed. AlScN and HfZrO2, two materials commonly used in MEMS and CMOS processes, respectively, have been shown to exhibit ferroelectricity in the last 15 years, and are being studied for applications in steep subthreshold slope logic, non-volitile memory, and reprogrammable MEMS. Beyond these, emerging Van Der Waals ferroelectrics like alpha-In2Se3 are particularly interesting for 2D integration applciations, such as for ferroelectric tunnel junctions, 2D transistors, and for highly scaled MEMS.
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The study of alpha-In2Se3 is supported by the National Science Foundation, award #2348101. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.