Atomic and Electronic Manipulation of Robust Ferroelectric Polymorphs

Abstract

Polymorphism allows the symmetry of the lattice and spatial charge distributions of atomically thin materials to be designed. While various polymorphs for superconducting, magnetic, and topological states have been extensively studied, polymorphic control is a challenge for robust ferroelectricity in atomically thin geometries. Here, the atomic and electric manipulation of ferroelectric polymorphs in Mo1-xWxTe2 is reported. Atomic manipulation for polymorphic control via chemical pressure (substituting tungsten for molybdenum atoms) and charge density modulation can realize tunable polar lattice structures and robust ferroelectricity up to T = 400 K with a constant coercive field in an atomically thin material. Owing to the effective inversion symmetry breaking, the ferroelectric switching withstands a charge carrier density of up to 1.1 x 10(13) cm(-2), developing an original diagram for ferroelectric switching in atomically thin materials.