Ferroelectric Domain Wall Memory and Logic

Abstract

Powered by big data and artificial intelligence, data-centric innovations are bringing about transformative societal changes and are expected to continue to meteorically rise for the foreseeable future, necessitating an accelerated development of alternative miniatured electronics and computing, which surmount the traditional latency and energy issues of von Neumann computing. One such highly attractive avenue involves the exploration of electrically programmable topological nanostructures, such as domain walls in ferroelectrics─the atomically abrupt nanoscale interfaces. The ferroelectric domain walls are agile and responsive to external stimuli. This allows selective control over their position, conformation, and functionality, which is ultimately the key to realizing low-energy memory and computing structures. This topical article examines the technological applications of ferroelectric domain walls for high-density information storage, logic, and computing applications and offers insights into potential future developments including challenges and opportunities.