Spatially Resolved Polarization Manipulation of Ferroelectricity in Twisted hBN

Robust room-temperature interfacial ferroelectricity has been formed in the 2D limit by simply twisting two atomic layers of non-ferroelectric hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). A thorough understanding of this newly discovered ferroelectric system is required. Here, twisted hBN is used as a tunneling junction and it is studied at the nanometer scale using conductive atomic force microscopy. Three properties unique to this system are discovered. First, the polarization dependence of the tunneling resistance contrasts with the conventional theory. Second, the ferroelectric domains can be controlled using mechanical stress, highlighting the original meaning of the emergent slidetronics. Third, ferroelectric hysteresis is highly spatially dependent. The hysteresis is symmetric at the domain walls. A few nanometers away, the hysteresis shifts completely to the positive or negative side, depending on the original polarization. These findings reveal the unconventional ferroelectricity in this 2D system.

Automated summary

Robust room-temperature interfacial ferroelectricity has been achieved in the 2D limit by twisting non-ferroelectric hBN layers. The system exhibits unconventional properties such as polarization-dependent tunneling resistance, the ability to control ferroelectric domains with mechanical stress, and spatially dependent ferroelectric hysteresis.