Unraveling the Wake-Up Mechanism in Ultrathin Ferroelectric Hf0.5 Zr0.5O₂: Interfacial Layer Soft Breakdown and Physical Modeling

This article proposes a new mechanism, referred to as interfacial-layer soft breakdown (IL-SBD), to elucidate the intricate wake-up process in the ultrathin ferroelectric (FE) hafnium-zirconium oxide (HZO). Our study provides a comprehensive interpretation and compelling experimental evidence, highl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on electron devices 2024-05, Vol.71 (5), p.3365-3370
Main Authors: Cho, Chen-Yi, Chao, Tzu-Yi, Lin, Tzu-Yao, Wang, I-Ting, De, Sourav, Chen, Yu-Sheng, Ong, Yi-Ching, Lin, Yu-De, Yeh, Po-Chun, Hou, Tuo-Hung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breakdown
Electric breakdown
Electrodes
Electron traps
Ferroelectric materials
Ferroelectricity
Interfacial layer (IL)
Iron
Mathematical models
soft breakdown
Switches
thickness scaling
ultrathin hafnium–zirconium oxide (HZO)
Voltage
Zirconium oxides
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Summary:This article proposes a new mechanism, referred to as interfacial-layer soft breakdown (IL-SBD), to elucidate the intricate wake-up process in the ultrathin ferroelectric (FE) hafnium-zirconium oxide (HZO). Our study provides a comprehensive interpretation and compelling experimental evidence, highlighting the crucial role of the interfacial layer (IL) and its soft breakdown in the wake-up phenomenon. A multidomain FE wake-up model is developed, incorporating defect generation, trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) within the IL, and charge screening at the IL/HZO interface, validating the proposed mechanism. The model accurately reproduces the trend of thickness-dependent wake-up behavior and reveals additional variability induced by the wake-up process, emphasizing the utmost significance of minimizing the IL in ultrathin HZO devices.
ISSN:0018-9383
1557-9646
DOI:10.1109/TED.2024.3379473