Multiferroic Oxide 2DEgs for Reconfigurable nonvolatile memory Nanodevices (MODERN)

The main idea of MODERN project is the realization of novel Ferroelectric (FE) and multiferroic oxide two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) characterized by a metal-insulating transition as function of the FE-polarization direction.

By locally switching-on and off the 2DEG using a scanning probe, devices with arbitrary nanoscale geometry will be demonstrated and sketched in a non-volatile manner, to realize prototype FE field effect transistors (FET), spin-FET and spin-charge conversion circuits for the generation and detection of spin-currents, all operating at ultra-low power energy density.

To achieve the objective, two heterostructures platforms will be studied and realized: 1.

K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN)/KTaO3 2DEG, where KNN is a well-known lead-free FE layer and KTaO3 is an oxide characterized by a large SOC (up to 0.4 eV), that develops an interfacial 2DEG.

Here KNN can both act as FE-layer with large polarization (up to 30 µC/cm2) and as interfacial donor of carriers by Nb-doping of the interface.2. Delta-doped LAO/SrVO3 (down to 2 unit cells (UCs))/SrTiO3.

Here, two UCs of VO2-terminated SrVO3 have been theoretically predicted to become a 2D multiferroic, with in plane FE order and an antiferromagnetic magnetic order