Strain Modulation of ZrO2 Ferroelectric Thin Films for Achieving Superior Polarization

• • ZrO2 films on NSTO(110) achieve a high remanent polarization (2Pr) of 92.64 μC/cm², and 88.54 μC/cm² after RC delay calibration, indicating robust ferroelectric performance for memory applications. • • The ferroelectric o-phase content is maximized on NSTO(110) due to optimal in-plane tensile strain, demonstrating that substrate orientation is a critical parameter for phase stabilization. • • The devices exhibit endurance of approximately 10^7 cycles with favorable fatigue characteristics, suggesting reliability for repeated read/write operations. • • X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals distortion of Zr-O tetrahedra, providing a microscopic mechanism for the observed ferroelectricity, which is essential for understanding and engineering ZrO2-based devices.