11 January 2024 | Sajid Husain, Isaac Harris, Guanhui Gao, Xinyan Li, Peter Meisenheimer, Chuqiao Shi, Pravin Kavle, Chi Hun Choi, Tae Yeon Kim, Deokyoung Kang, Piusk Behera, Didier Perrodin, Hua Guo, James M. Tour, Yimo Han, Lane W. Martin, Zhi Yao & Ramamoorthy Ramesh
This study demonstrates the successful growth of lanthanum-substituted bismuth ferrite (La-BiFeO₃) at a low temperature of 450 °C on metallic perovskite BaPb₀.₇₅Bi₀.₂₅O₃ electrodes, overcoming the challenge of high-temperature growth (650–800 °C) required for direct integration with silicon-CMOS platforms. Despite a significant lattice mismatch between La-BiFeO₃, BaPb₀.₇₅Bi₀.₂₅O₃, and SrTiO₃ (001) substrates, all layers in the heterostructures exhibit well-ordered [001] texture. Polarization mapping using atomic resolution STEM imaging and vector mapping confirms short-range polarization ordering in the low-temperature-grown La-BiFeO₃. Current-voltage, pulsed-switching, fatigue, and retention measurements show characteristics similar to those of high-temperature-grown La-BiFeO₃, where SrRuO₃ serves as the metallic electrode. This work opens a new pathway for realizing epitaxial multiferroics on complex-oxide buffer layers at low temperatures, potentially enabling silicon-CMOS integration. The study also investigates the role of the bottom electrode as a template for the epitaxial growth of La-BiFeO₃, highlighting the importance of the electrode's crystallinity and low surface energy in facilitating the growth of La-BiFeO₃ at low temperatures.This study demonstrates the successful growth of lanthanum-substituted bismuth ferrite (La-BiFeO₃) at a low temperature of 450 °C on metallic perovskite BaPb₀.₇₅Bi₀.₂₅O₃ electrodes, overcoming the challenge of high-temperature growth (650–800 °C) required for direct integration with silicon-CMOS platforms. Despite a significant lattice mismatch between La-BiFeO₃, BaPb₀.₇₅Bi₀.₂₅O₃, and SrTiO₃ (001) substrates, all layers in the heterostructures exhibit well-ordered [001] texture. Polarization mapping using atomic resolution STEM imaging and vector mapping confirms short-range polarization ordering in the low-temperature-grown La-BiFeO₃. Current-voltage, pulsed-switching, fatigue, and retention measurements show characteristics similar to those of high-temperature-grown La-BiFeO₃, where SrRuO₃ serves as the metallic electrode. This work opens a new pathway for realizing epitaxial multiferroics on complex-oxide buffer layers at low temperatures, potentially enabling silicon-CMOS integration. The study also investigates the role of the bottom electrode as a template for the epitaxial growth of La-BiFeO₃, highlighting the importance of the electrode's crystallinity and low surface energy in facilitating the growth of La-BiFeO₃ at low temperatures.