Structurally different from conventional oxide ferroelectrics with rigid lattices, van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectrics have stable layered structures with a combination of strong intralayer and weak interlayer forces. These special atomic arrangements, in combination with the ferroelectric order, give rise to fundamentally new phenomena and functionalities, including downscaling limits, origin of the polarization and switching mechanisms. Furthermore, their easily stackable nature means that vdW ferroelectrics are readily integrable with highly dissimilar materials, such as industrial silicon substrates, without interfacial issues, and are thus regarded as attractive building blocks for post-Moore’s law electronics. In this Review, we consider the experimentally verified vdW ferroelectric systems by discussing their unique characteristics, such as quadruple-well potentials, metallic ferroelectricity and dipole-locking effects. We highlight the emerging field of engineered vdW ferroelectricity, created by artificially breaking centrosymmetry in stacks of otherwise nonpolar parent materials. Additionally, innovative device applications harnessing vdW ferroelectricity are showcased, including transistors able to beat the Boltzmann tyranny, nonvolatile memories and optoelectronic and flexible devices. Recent progress and existing challenges provide a perspective on future research directions and applications.

与具有刚性晶格的传统氧化物铁电体结构不同，范德华（vdW）铁电体具有稳定的层状结构，具有强层内力和弱层间力的组合。这些特殊的原子排列与铁电顺序相结合，产生了全新的现象和功能，包括缩小极限、极化起源和切换机制。此外，它们易于堆叠的性质意味着 vdW 铁电体很容易与高度不同的材料（例如工业硅基板）集成，而没有界面问题，因此被认为是后摩尔定律电子学的有吸引力的构建模块。在这篇评论中，我们通过讨论它们的独特特性来考虑经过实验验证的 vdW 铁电系统，例如四阱电位、金属铁电性和偶极锁定效应。我们重点介绍了工程化 vdW 铁电的新兴领域，该领域是通过人为打破非极性母材堆叠中的中心对称性而产生的。此外，还展示了利用 vdW 铁电性的创新设备应用，包括能够击败玻尔兹曼暴政的晶体管、非易失性存储器以及光电和柔性设备。最近的进展和现有的挑战为未来的研究方向和应用提供了一个视角。展示了利用 vdW 铁电性的创新设备应用，包括能够击败玻尔兹曼暴政的晶体管、非易失性存储器以及光电和柔性设备。最近的进展和现有的挑战为未来的研究方向和应用提供了一个视角。展示了利用 vdW 铁电性的创新设备应用，包括能够击败玻尔兹曼暴政的晶体管、非易失性存储器以及光电和柔性设备。最近的进展和现有的挑战为未来的研究方向和应用提供了一个视角。