Ferroelectric switching of interfacial dipoles in α-RuCl3/graphene heterostructure

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Abstract
We demonstrate electrically switchable, non-volatile dipoles in graphene/thin hBN/α-RuCl3alpha-RuCl3 heterostructures, stabilized purely by interfacial charge transfer across an atomically thin dielectric barrier. This mechanism requires no sliding or twisting to explicitly break inversion symmetry and produces robust ferroelectric-like hysteresis loops that emerge prominently near 30 K. Systematic measurements under strong in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields reveal negligible effects on the hysteresis characteristics, confirming that the primary mechanism driving the dipole switching is electrostatic. Our findings establish a distinct and robust route to electrically tunable ferroelectric phenomena in van der Waals heterostructures, opening opportunities to explore the interplay between interfacial charge transfer and temperature-tuned barrier crossing of dipole states at the atomic scale.
Funding Information
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2025-00557717)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2024-00444725)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2023-00274875)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2023-00269616)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2024-00410027)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (2022M3H4A1A04074153)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2024-00443714)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (2023M3K5A1094810)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2023-NR119931)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2024-00410027)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2024-00444725)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2023-00256050)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (RS-2023-0020829)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (IRS-2025-25453111)
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (21H05233)
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (23H02052)
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (WPI)
  • MEXT | JST | Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (JPMJCR24A5)
  • Samsung (SSTF-BA2401-03)
  • United States Department of Defense | United States Air Force | AFMC | Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA23862514026)
  • Aspen Center for Physics (PHY-2210452)

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