Recently, Professor Li Xiuyan, a member of the Liu Jingquan team at the School of Integrated Circuits at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, along with her collaborators, published groundbreaking research titled "New Phase Transition Pathway-Assisted Domain Orientation Control in Hafnium Zirconium Oxide Ferroelectric Thin Films" in the prestigious international journal Nature Communications. This study unveils, for the first time, a potential phase transition pathway from the antiferroelectric tetragonal phase to the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase in hafnium oxide-based ferroelectric materials. This revelation offers a fresh perspective on controlling ferroelectric domain orientation in polycrystalline hafnium oxide-based thin films.

Since their inception in 2011, hafnium oxide-based ferroelectric materials have showcased immense potential for applications in non-volatile memory for integrated circuits, owing to their exceptional CMOS compatibility and scalability. This latest research is poised to catalyze the design and optimization of high-performance ferroelectric devices, pushing the boundaries of what is achievable in this domain.