Quadruple-well ferroelectricity and moderate switching barrier in defective wurtzite α-Al2S3: a first-principles study

Wurtzite-type ferroelectrics are highly promising for next-generation microelectronic devices due to their ferroelectric properties and integration with exiting semiconductors. However, their high coercive fields, which are close to breakdown electric fields, need to be lowered. To deal with this issue and secure device reliability, much effort has been devoted to exploring novel wurtzite compounds with lower polarization switching barriers and implementing doping strategies. Here, we report first-principles calculations on polarization switching in cation-vacancy ordered wurtzite α-Al₂S₃, unveiling its uniaxial quadruple-well ferroelectricity and moderate switching barrier, 51 meV/cation, which is much lower than that of conventional wurtzite ferroelectrics. There are three important features relevant to the Al vacancies leading to the uncommon quadruple-well ferroelectricity and the moderate switching barrier: mitigation of cation-cation repulsion, structural flexibility that alleviates an in-plane lattice expansion, and formation of σ-like bonding states consisting of Al 3p_z and S 3p_z orbitals. Biaxial compressive strain and Ga doping lower the switching barriers by up to 40%. This study encourages experimental investigation of the ferroelectric properties for defective wurtzite α-Al₂S₃ as a new promising material with unconventional and intriguing ferroelectricity and suggests a potential strategy for reducing switching barriers in wurtzite ferroelectrics: introducing cation vacancies.