Giant Dielectric Permittivity in Ferroelectric Thin Films: Domain Wall Ping Pong

The dielectric permittivity in ferroelectric thin films is generally orders of magnitude smaller than in their bulk. Here, we discover a way of increasing dielectric constants in ferroelectric thin films by ca. 500% by synchronizing the pulsed switching fields with the intrinsic switching time (nucleation of domain plus forward growth from cathode to anode). In a 170-nm lead zirconate titanate thin film with an average grain size of 850 nm this produces a dielectric constant of 8200 with the maximum nucleus density of 3.8 μm−2, which is one to three orders of magnitude higher than in other dielectric thin films. This permits smaller capacitors in memory devices and is a step forward in making ferroelectric domain-engineered nano-electronics.