Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire approach we calculated the equilibrium distributions of electric field, polarization, and space charge in the ferroelectric-semiconductor heterostructures containing proper or incipient ferroelectric thin films. The role of the polarization gradient and intrinsic surface energy, interface dipoles, and free charges on polarization dynamics are specifically explored. The intrinsic field effects, which originated at the ferroelectric-semiconductor interface, lead to the surface band bending and result into the formation of depletion space-charge layer near the semiconductor surface. During the local polarization reversal (caused by the electric field of the nanosized tip of the scanning probe microscope) the thickness and charge of the interface layer drastically changes, in particular, the sign of the screening carriers is determined by the polarization direction. Obtained analytical solutions could be extended to analyze polarization-mediated electronic transport.

• Received 31 December 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.205308