HfO2-based thin films possess broad application potential in semiconductors, non-volatile memory, and neuromorphic computing owing to their high dielectric constant, excellent ferroelectricity, and environmental robustness. However, an environmentally friendly strategy for synthesizing flexible HfO2-based films remains lacking. In this work, by incorporating a BaTiO3/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/BaTiO3 (BTO/HZO/BTO) sandwiched architecture together with a Sr4Al2O7 sacrificial layer, a freestanding HfO2-based heterostructure can be detached simply by applying pure water. The resulting film exhibits high film quality and stable ferroelectric behavior, along with pronounced flexibility that enables repeated transfer onto diverse substrates. Furthermore, the synthesized freestanding film is employed to construct a ferroelectric field-effect transistor that successfully emulates synaptic functionalities, highlighting its potential for low-power neuromorphic hardware. This work provides a viable strategy for developing high-performance artificial synapses based on flexible oxide heterostructures.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.