Polarization-controlled multistate thermal conductivity in ferroelectric HfO2 thin films

While nanoscale electronic logic circuits are well established, the development of nanoscale thermal logic circuits has been slow, mainly due to the absence of efficient and controllable nonvolatile field-effect thermal transistors. In this study, we investigate polarization-dependent thermal conductivity in ferroelectric orthorhombic hafnium dioxide (o-HfO2) thin films. Using molecular dynamics simulations with machine learning potentials, we show that a 24-nm-long o-HfO2 film can exhibit four distinct and stable thermal conductivity states arising from different ferroelectric polarization configurations. Notably, these states achieve a maximum switching ratio of 160.8% under 2% tensile strain. Our results suggest a practical pathway toward nonvolatile field-effect thermal transistors.