Nonvolatile Ferroelectric Memory with Lateral β/α/β In₂Se₃ Heterojunctions

The electric dipole locking effect observed in van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectric α-In2Se3 has resulted in a surge of applied research in electronics with nonvolatile functionality. However, ferroelectric tunnel junctions with advantages of lower power consumption and faster writing/reading operations have not been realized in α-In2Se3. Here, we demonstrate the tunneling electroresistance effect in a lateral β/α/β In2Se3 heterojunction built by local laser irradiation. Switchable in-plane polarizations of the vdW ferroelectric control the tunneling conductance of the heterojunction device by 4000% of magnitude. The electronic logic bit can be represented and stored with different orientations of electric dipoles. This prototype enables a new approach to rewritable nonvolatile memory with in-plane ferroelectricity in vdW 2D materials.