Self-powered photo-pyroelectric sensing in antiferroelectric Hafnium zirconium memory with asymmetric van der Waals electrodes

Hafnium zirconium oxide with antiferroelectric polarizations holds great promise for emerging applications such as neuromorphic computing, energy-efficient storage, and nonvolatile memory, owing to its tunable phase transitions, fast switching speed, improved endurance, and excellent compatibility with silicon-based processes. In practical memory applications, however, the moderate residual polarizations of antiferroelectric hafnium zirconium oxide films pose greater challenges for nondestructive readout than their ferroelectric counterparts, particularly when relying solely on electrical pulses applied via metal electrodes. Here, we introduce graphite nanosheets as photoactive top electrodes for Hf_0.1Zr_0.9O₂-based nonvolatile memories, enabling nondestructive optical readout through the photo-pyroelectric effect. The optothermally active van der Waals graphite nanosheet top electrode triggers nonpolar-to-polar state transition, thereby inducing a pyroelectric response in the Hf_0.1Zr_0.9O₂ layer. This mechanism enables self-powered and nondestructive photo-pyroelectric sensing capabilities, as well as voltage-programmable in-memory logic functionalities—circumventing the destructive readout issues faced by traditional hafnium-based ferroelectrics. Our work paves the way for hafnium-zirconium-oxide-based, photonic-compatible memory architectures for post-Moore electronics.