Ferroelectric tunneling under bias voltages

Theoretical investigations of ferroelectric tunneling in a SrRuO₃/BaTiO₃/Pt junction were conducted, and critical expressions for the surface charge density in the electrodes and the potential distribution across the tunnel junction were derived. It was found that the screening charges associated with the ferroelectric polarization and the charging effect of the capacitor jointly contribute to the charges in the electrodes. A current-voltage study simulating the ‘read’ operation indicated that the tunneling electroresistance effect increases with the ferroelectric thickness, and the tunneling electroresistance values agree well with experimental results.