Structural visualization of polarization fatigue in epitaxial ferroelectric oxide devices

Ferroelectric oxides, such as Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3, are useful for electronic and photonic devices because of their ability to retain two stable polarization states, which can form the basis for memory and logic circuitry(1). Requirements for long-term operation of practical devices such as non-volatile RAM ( random access memory) include consistent polarization switching over many (more than 10(12)) cycles of the applied electric field, which represents a major challenge(2). As switching is largely controlled by the motion and pinning of domain walls, it is necessary to develop suitable tools that can directly probe the ferroelectric domain structures in operating devices-thin-film structures with electrical contacts. A recently developed synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction technique complements existing microscopic probes, and allows us to visualize directly the evolution of polarization domains in ferroelectric devices, through metal or oxide electrodes, and with submicrometre spatial resolution. The images reveal two regimes of fatigue, depending on the magnitude of the electric field pulses driving the device: a low-field regime in which fatigue can be reversed with higher electric field pulses, and a regime at very high electric fields in which there is a non-reversible crystallographic relaxation of the epitaxial ferroelectric film.