Physics

Dipole

Electrode

Point reflection

Magnetization

Quantum phase transition

Magnetic field

Phase transition

Dielectric

Quantum critical point

Physical chemistry

Chemical physics

Electric dipole moment

Chemistry

Ferroics

Materials science

Polarization (electrochemistry)

Condensed matter physics

Polar

Phase (matter)

Quantum mechanics

Antiferroelectricity

Capacitance

Optoelectronics

Electric field

Ferroelectricity

Polarization density

Nature Communications

Crystalline materials with broken inversion symmetry can exhibit a spontaneous electric polarization, which originates from a microscopic electric dipole moment. Long-range polar or anti-polar order of such permanent dipoles gives rise to ferroelectricity or antiferroelectricity, respectively. However, the recently discovered antiferroelectrics of fluorite structure (HfO2 and ZrO2) are different: A non-polar phase transforms into a polar phase by spontaneous inversion symmetry breaking upon the application of an electric field. Here, we show that this structural transition in antiferroelectric ZrO2 gives rise to a negative capacitance, which is promising for overcoming the fundamental limits of energy efficiency in electronics. Our findings provide insight into the thermodynamically forbidden region of the antiferroelectric transition in ZrO2 and extend the concept of negative capacitance beyond ferroelectricity. This shows that negative capacitance is a more general phenomenon than previously thought and can be expected in a much broader range of materials exhibiting structural phase transitions.

Antiferroelectric negative capacitance from a structural phase transition in zirconia