Methodology
Electronics and photonics technology based on ferroelectrics as a functional component
The development of advanced artificial synapses for electronics and neuromorphics, utilizing a combination of amorphous WOx and polycrystalline HZO in 2 and 3-terminal configurations can exhibit excellent endurance, low power consumption, and analog resistive switching. To enhance the on/off ratio of existing HZO synapses, the project aims to engineer one of the electrodes to significantly change the energy profile of its interface. This will be achieved by screening polarisation charges at the interface to a ferroelectric film.
How?
The project also explores epitaxial WOx and BSO by ALD as potential electrodes and amorphous HZO. The structural characterisation will be performed using X-ray diffraction and TEM, examining the existence of preferential crystalline orientation induced by the novel electrodes. Additionally, the project aims to increase the dynamic range through epitaxial ferroelectrics, which present fewer defects at interfaces and allow for maximising the projection of the polarisation vector normal to the thin-film plane, increasing the field effect.
In photonics, integrated photonic modulators are essential for intra- and inter-datacentre interconnects, with silicon photonic modulators based on the plasma dispersion effect being a leading alternative since current silicon modulators may not cope with upcoming standards and beyond. The current technology is based on silicon photonic modulators, which are limited by voltage-dependent optical losses.
Outcomes
ALD processes can be used to better understand the detailed interplay between structure and device metrics in BTO technology, which can lead to superior crystalline quality and industrialisation of a photonics BTO technology.
