Gate-tunable electroresistance in a sliding ferroelectric tunnel junction

Thin-film ferroelectrics have found application as high-density, nonvolatile memories due to the existence of electric-field-driven switching and room-temperature order. Recently discovered sliding ferroelectrics in van der Waals materials offer a new direction for next generation ferroelectric devices. By controlling the angular alignment between adjacent layers, dielectric monolayers can be assembled into ferroelectric bilayers, unencumbered by epitaxial constraints and free from dangling bonds that contribute to electric depolarization. In contrast to previously studied ferroelectrics where switching is accompanied by the displacement of individual atoms, the polarization switching in sliding ferroelectrics corresponds to translation of one entire atomic layer relative to another. Potential memory applications of this novel mechanism, therefore, warrant further study to develop reliable, low impedance readout methods. Here, we perform electrical characterization of a tunnel junction where the insulating barrier is a sliding ferroelectric and quantify how the tunneling electroresistance evolves as a function of junction bias and gate voltage.