Demonstration of ferroelectricity in Zn1-xMgxO thin films over a wide Mg concentration range
摘要
Zn1-xMgxO thin films with a Mg content ranging from 35 to 53 at% were prepared by dual-target reactive magnetron co-sputtering at room temperature. X-ray diffractions show highly (0002)-preferred orientation growth of the wurtzite-structured films and the appearance of the rock-salt phase in films with the Mg concentration higher than 43 at%. The polarization and transient current hysteresis curve measurements confirm that the ferroelectricity can be achieved not only in single wurtzite-structured films, but also surprisingly in films co-existing with wurtzite and rock-salt phases. The results contribute significant progress in understanding and further optimizing the ferroelectric property of wurtzite-structured materials, while achieving a broader ferroelectric composition range is also more advantageous for device applications.