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Title: Crystal Phase Distribution and Ferroelectricity in Ultrathin HfO 2 –ZrO 2 Bilayers

Journal Article · · Physica Status Solidi B. Basic Solid State Physics

(Hf,Zr)O 2 ultrathin films are used as ferroelectric layers in emerging digital logic and nonvolatile memory devices. The ferroelectric properties of (Hf,Zr)O 2 can be improved by interface engineering, such as the formation of nanolaminates with distinct HfO 2 and ZrO 2 layers. Herein, the ferroelectric performance of HfO 2 –ZrO 2 ultrathin bilayer devices is shown to depend on the stacking order of HfO 2 and ZrO 2 , which affects the quantity of the noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic Pca 2 1 crystal phase. By combining X‐ray diffraction with a novel extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis procedure, the orthorhombic, tetragonal, and monoclinic phase fractions are quantified for bilayers composed of 3 nm HfO 2 and 3 nm ZrO 2 . A significantly larger orthorhombic ZrO 2 phase fraction is found when ZrO 2 has an unconstrained surface during annealing, whereas the presence of a ZrO 2 interface with the substrate results in a substantial tetragonal ZrO 2 phase fraction and a 2.4× smaller remanent polarization. HfO 2 is found to be less susceptible than ZrO 2 to crystal phase templating. The methods presented herein enable mechanistic studies of ferroelectric wake‐up, fatigue, and processing effects in (Hf,Zr)O 2 films, accelerating the development of electronic devices that rely on ferroelectric oxides.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1561364
Journal Information:
Physica Status Solidi B. Basic Solid State Physics, Journal Name: Physica Status Solidi B. Basic Solid State Physics Vol. 257 Journal Issue: 1; ISSN 0370-1972
Publisher:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 17 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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