Ferroelectric-like hysteresis loop in nonferroelectric systems

A ferroelectric-like hysteresis loop is obtained for a nonferroelectric system consisting of two back-to-back metal-semiconductor Schottky contacts with a large concentration of traps distributed over a finite thickness near the electrodes. The presented results show that a simple hysteresis loop measured at a single frequency is not always solid evidence of ferroelectricity in low-dimensional structures such as thin films or nanoscale structures. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.