Tunable polarization and band gap in ferroelectric nitride perovskites via superlattice design
Phys. Rev. B 113, 134105 – Published 6 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ddls-1138
Abstract
Superlattice engineering has proven to be a practical approach for modulating the functional properties of oxide perovskites in both theoretical and experimental research. Recently, some nitride perovskites have been successfully synthesized; however, several of them display metallic behavior, highlighting the need for reliable strategies to achieve a ferroelectric insulating phase. In this work, we designed a series of nitride perovskite superlattices with the general formula (, W, Mo, etc.; , Hf, Ta, etc.; , Zr, V, etc.) using first-principles calculations and identified 19 candidates with , band gaps of 1.01 to 2.19 eV, and polarizations up to in . Further analysis reveals that the ferroelectricity is driven by trilinear coupling of polar, rotation, and tilt modes. In addition, our study shows that the A-site cation radius and the Jahn-Teller effect of the B-site cation significantly influence polarization strength in the system. This work expands the family of nitride perovskite ferroelectrics and provides theoretical guidance for future experimental synthesis of nitride perovskite ferroelectric superlattices.