The diode behavior of ferroelectric materials was shown to be enhanced using aqueous solution treatment of their surface. The electric current increased for both BaTiO₃ and BiFeO₃ nano-films after being treated with aqueous solution as compared with their as-grown films. The hydroxyl groups were confirmed to be successfully bonded on the surface, which increased the concentration of oxygen vacancies near the film surface. The rectifying diode effect can be associated with the polarization direction and the movement and redistribution of oxygen vacancies within the ferroelectric thin films. Further the enhanced diode effect for the hydroxylated film was attributed to the increased oxygen vacancies near the top electrode/film interface. The reported finding helps us understand the role of water as the most common polar molecule in the atmosphere on the ferroelectric materials that exist in many industrial devices. This will provide a low-cost strategy for improving the performance of resistive memory.

中文翻译：

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通过铁电氧化物薄膜的表面羟基化增强可开关二极管的效果

使用水溶液对其表面进行水溶液处理可显示铁电材料的二极管性能得到增强。BaTiO ₃和BiFeO _3的电流均增加与成膜后的纳米膜相比，经水溶液处理后的纳米膜。确认羟基成功结合在表面上，这增加了膜表面附近的氧空位的浓度。整流二极管效应可以与极化方向以及铁电薄膜内的氧空位的移动和重新分布有关。此外，羟基化膜增强的二极管效应归因于顶部电极/膜界面附近的氧空位增加。报告的发现有助于我们理解水是大气中最常见的极性分子在许多工业设备中存在的铁电材料上的作用。这将为改善电阻式存储器的性能提供一种低成本策略。