Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology

Continuous advancement in non-volatile and morphotropic beyond-Moore electronic devices requires integration of ferroelectric and semiconductor materials, and the direction has been aggressively pursued for more than 40 years. Emergence of the HfO₂ based ferroelectrics that are compatible with atomic layer deposition have opened new and promising venue of research. However, the origins of ferroelectricity and pathways to control it in HfO₂ are still mysterious. Here, we demonstrate that local He implantation can locally activate ferroelectricity in these materials. The possible competing mechanisms including He ion-induced molar volume changes, vacancy redistribution, vacancy generation, and activation of vacancy mobility are analyzed. These findings both reveal the origins of ferroelectricity in this system and open pathway for nanoengineered binary ferroelectrics.