Ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs), composed of two metal electrodes separated by an ultrathin ferroelectric barrier, have attracted much attention as promising candidates for non-volatile resistive memories. Theoretical and experimental works have revealed that the tunnelling resistance switching in FTJs originates mainly from a ferroelectric modulation on the barrier height. However, in these devices, modulation on the barrier width is very limited, although the tunnelling transmittance depends on it exponentially as well. Here we propose a novel tunnelling heterostructure by replacing one of the metal electrodes in a normal FTJ with a heavily doped semiconductor. In these metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor FTJs, not only the height but also the width of the barrier can be electrically modulated as a result of a ferroelectric field effect, leading to a greatly enhanced tunnelling electroresistance. This idea is implemented in Pt/BaTiO3/Nb:SrTiO3 heterostructures, in which an ON/OFF conductance ratio above 10(4), about one to two orders greater than those reported in normal FTJs, can be achieved at room temperature. The giant tunnelling electroresistance, reliable switching reproducibility and long data retention observed in these metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor FTJs suggest their great potential in non-destructive readout non-volatile memories.

Quasi-periodic structure can be introduced into nonlinear optical materials such as LiTaO 3 crystals. Such structures were used for quasi–phase-matching second-harmonic generation. These materials are now shown to be able to couple second-harmonic generation and sum-frequency generation through quasi–phase-matching. The approach led to a direct third-harmonic generation with high efficiency through a coupled parametric process. The result verifies that high-order harmonics may be generated in a quadric nonlinear medium by a number of quasi–phase-matching processes, and therefore, exhibits a possible important application of quasi-periodic structure materials in nonlinear optics.

The formation of H 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanotubes, nanofibers, nanowires, and nanobelts via alkali hydrothermal synthesis was studied in detail by TEM and HRTEM. The effects of preparation parameters, such as reaction temperature, duration, and cooling process, on the morphologies of the products are clarified. A universal formation mechanism is proposed based on the growth, split, wrapping, and thickening of Na 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanointermediates, which links all kinds of morphologies observed for H 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanoentities.