Thin PZT‐Based Ferroelectric Capacitors on Flexible Silicon for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

• Published in: Advanced electronic materials Vol. 1; no. 6
• Main Authors: Ghoneim, Mohamed T., Zidan, Mohammed A., Alnassar, Mohammed Y., Hanna, Amir N., Kosel, Jurgen, Salama, Khaled N., Hussain, Muhammad M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-06-2015
• Subjects: ferroelectric; flexible electronics; nonvolatile memory; PZT; silicon
• ISSN: 2199-160X; 2199-160X
• DOI: 10.1002/aelm.201500045

A flexible version of traditional thin lead zirconium titanate ((Pb1.1Zr0.48Ti0.52O3)‐(PZT)) based ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) on silicon shows record performance in flexible arena. The thin PZT layer requires lower operational voltages to achieve coercive electric fields, reduces the sol‐gel coating cycles required (i.e., more cost‐effective), and, fabrication wise, is more suitable for further scaling of lateral dimensions to the nano‐scale due to the larger feature size‐to‐depth aspect ratio (critical for ultra‐high density non‐volatile memory applications). Utilizing the inverse proportionality between substrate's thickness and its flexibility, traditional PZT based FeRAM on silicon is transformed through a transfer‐less manufacturable process into a flexible form that matches organic electronics' flexibility while preserving the superior performance of silicon CMOS electronics. Each memory cell in a FeRAM array consists of two main elements; a select/access transistor, and a storage ferroelectric capacitor. Flexible transistors on silicon have already been reported. In this work, we focus on the storage ferroelectric capacitors, and report, for the first time, its performance after transformation into a flexible version, and assess its key memory parameters while bent at 0.5 cm minimum bending radius.
A flexible version of thin traditional lead zirconium titanate (PZT)‐based FeRAM on silicon shows record performance in flexible arena. Utilizing an inverse proportionality between substrate thickness and its flexibility, commercial grade PZT‐based FeRAM on silicon is transformed through a transfer‐less complementary metal oxide semiconductor compatible process into a flexible form that matches organic electronics' flexibility while preserving the superior performance of silicon electronics.