Reliable Nonvolatile Memory Black Phosphorus Ferroelectric Field-Effect Transistors with van der Waals Buffer

Two-dimensional material-based ferroelectric field-effect transistors (2D-FeFETs) hold great promise in information storage and processing. However, an often-observed and hard-to-control anti-hysteresis response of 2D-FeFETs, for example, hysteretic switching of the resistance states of the devices opposite to that of the actual polarization of the ferroelectric dielectric, represents a major issue in the industrial applications of such devices. Here, we demonstrate a van der Waals buffer technique that eliminates anti-hysteresis in black phosphorus (BP) 2D-FeFETs and restores their intrinsic hysteretic behavior. Our modified BP 2D-FeFETs showed outstanding performance including high room-temperature carrier mobility, robust bistable states with fast response to a gate, a large on/off ratio at zero gate voltage, a large and considerably more stable memory window, and a long retention time. During repeated gate operation, the memory window of the buffered device is similar to 7000 times more stable than the unbuffered device. Such a method could be crucial in future information technological applications that utilize the intrinsic properties of 2D-FeFETs.