Subdegree twisting in bilayer SnTe films enables a large polarization switching

High power consumption, leakage currents, and fatigue in conventional electrical switches motivate the development of alternative switching paradigms for low-power and high-contrast signal control. In this study, a twisted bilayer SnTe switching architecture based on interlayer-twist-induced polarization switching is proposed. Introducing a finite twist disrupts the intrinsic symmetry of few-layer \ensuremath{\alpha}-SnTe, generating an out-of-plane polarization and enabling a large-contrast switching response. Near a twist angle of $27.{8}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, with a gradual rotation of $0.{323}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, the polarization undergoes a pronounced evolution from a virtually negligible value to a maximum of $3.26\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{m}$, with the polarization differing by $3.24\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{m}$ between the two stable states. The remarkable polarization response induced by the subdegree interlayer twist establishes a viable strategy for designing low-power logic devices and multifunctional quantum electronic systems at the nanoscale.