Unconventional ferroelectricity exhibited by hafnia-based thin films-robust at nanoscale sizes-presents tremendous opportunities in nanoelectronics. However, the exact nature of polarization switching remains controversial. We investigated a La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 capacitor interfaced with various top electrodes while performing in situ electrical biasing using atomic-resolution microscopy with direct oxygen imaging as well as with synchrotron nanobeam diffraction. When the top electrode is oxygen reactive, we observe reversible oxygen vacancy migration with electrodes as the source and sink of oxygen and the dielectric layer acting as a fast conduit at millisecond time scales. With nonreactive top electrodes and at longer time scales (seconds), the dielectric layer also acts as an oxygen source and sink. Our results show that ferroelectricity in hafnia-based thin films is unmistakably intertwined with oxygen voltammetry.

Hafnia-based thin films exhibit unconventional ferroelectricity. These materials also show rich polymorphism, and thus temperature and field-driven phase transitions, as well as oxygen migration. In a bigger context of exploring the synergy between ferroelectricity and diffusion-based structural phenomena, here we study temperature-dependent phase transitions in epitaxial Hf0.5Zr0.5O2(HZO)/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO, bottom electrode) heterostructures. We report topotactic phase transitions and their clear pathways in both LSMO and HZO layers upon heating under vacuum, using in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Specifically, we directly image oxygen and cationic columns using integrated differential phase contrast STEM and follow their evolution with temperature. We also perform in situ high temperature X-ray diffraction in air and show that the LSMO layer undergoes reversible thermal expansion and contraction when heated up to 850 °C, whereas HZO undergoes strain relaxation beyond 750 °C without any reversible phase transition. Our results provide a comprehensive and direct understanding of temperature-dependent structure, defect, and property correlations in these systems.