  My research is dedicated to the electronic properties of functional oxides.
My activity specifically focuses on ferroelectric tunnel junctions in which an
ultrathin layer of ferroelectric material is intercalated between two metallic
electrodes. In these devices, polarization reversal induces large modifications
of the tunnel resistance, leading to a non-destructive readout of the
information. After a demonstration of the concept with scanning probe
microscopy techniques, I have been exploring the properties of ferroelectric
tunnel junctions with various ferroelectric materials (BaTiO3, BiFeO3, and
PVDF). I showed that these devices possess attractive properties for
applications as non-volatile binary memories. In addition, exploring the fact
that polarization usually reverses by the nucleation and propagation of
domains, I demonstrated a memristive behavior in the junctions associated to
non-uniform configurations of ferroelectric domains. Such ferroelectric
memristors can be used as artificial synapses in neuromorphic architectures.
Coupled to magnetic electrodes, the resulting multiferroic tunnel junctions
enable a non-volatile control of magnetism at the ferroelectric/electrode
interface and of the spin-polarized current associated. Besides this main
activity on tunnel devices, I explored the influence of ferroelectricity on
magnetic orders and on the properties of functional oxides.
