First-principles study of interface doping in ferroelectric junctions

Effect of atomic monolayer insertion on the performance of ferroelectric tunneling junction is investigated in SrRuO(3)/BaTiO(3)/SrRuO(3) heterostrucutures. Based on first-principles calculations, the atomic displacement, orbital occupancy, and ferroelectric polarization are studied. It is found that the ferroelectricity is enhanced when a (AlO(2))(−) monolayer is inserted between the electrode SRO and the barrier BTO, where the relatively high mobility of doped holes effectively screen ferroelectric polarization. On the other hand, for the case of (LaO)(+) inserted layer, the doped electrons resides at the both sides of middle ferroelectric barrier, making the ferroelectricity unfavorable. Our findings provide an alternative avenue to improve the performance of ferroelectric tunneling junctions.