A bit more than a decade after the first report of ferroelectric switching in hafnium dioxide-based ultrathin layers, this family of materials continues to elicit interest. There is ample consensus that the observed switching does not obey the same mechanisms present in most other ferroelectrics, but its exact nature is still under debate. Next to this fundamental relevance, a large research effort is dedicated to optimizing the use of this extraordinary material, which already shows direct integrability in current semiconductor chips and potential for scalability to the smallest node architectures, in smaller and more reliable devices. Here we present a perspective on how, despite our incomplete understanding and remaining device endurance issues, the lessons learned from hafnium dioxide-based ferroelectrics offer interesting avenues beyond ferroelectric random-access memories and field-effect transistors. We hope that research along these other directions will stimulate discoveries that, in turn, will mitigate some of the current issues. Extending the scope of available systems will eventually enable the way to low-power electronics, self-powered devices and energy-efficient information processing.

在首次报道基于二氧化铪的超薄层中的铁电转换十多年后，该系列材料继续引起人们的兴趣。人们普遍认为，观察到的开关不遵循大多数其他铁电体中存在的相同机制，但其确切性质仍在争论中。除了这种基本相关性之外，大量研究工作致力于优化这种非凡材料的使用，这种材料已经显示出在当前半导体芯片中的直接集成性，以及在更小、更可靠的设备中可扩展到最小节点架构的潜力。在这里，我们提出了一个观点，尽管我们的理解不完整并且仍然存在设备耐久性问题，从基于二氧化铪的铁电体中吸取的教训提供了超越铁电随机存取存储器和场效应晶体管的有趣途径。我们希望沿着这些其他方向的研究能够激发发现，进而缓解当前的一些问题。扩展可用系统的范围最终将为低功耗电子设备、自供电设备和节能信息处理开辟道路。