Anti-Ferroelectric ZrO2 Capacitors With Ultralow Operating Voltage

• Published in: IEEE transactions on electron devices Vol. 71; no. 9; p. 5767
• Main Authors: Xu, Jiacheng, Ma, Minglei, Shen, Rongzong, Qian, Haoji, Lin, Gaobo, Gu, Jiani, Song, Xinda, Liu, Huan, Liu, Yan, Chen, Jiajia, Jin, Chengji, Han, Genquan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Antiferroelectricity; Capacitors; Electric potential; Electrode polarization; Electrodes; Ferroelectric materials; Voltage; Work functions; Zirconium dioxide
• ISSN: 0018-9383; 1557-9646
• DOI: 10.1109/TED.2024.3429289

We have developed and experimentally demonstrated anti-ferroelectric (AFE) ZrO2 capacitors with operating voltage ([Formula Omitted]) lower than 1.2 V while maintaining sufficient memory window (MW) ([Formula Omitted]C/cm[Formula Omitted]), high endurance (projected to [Formula Omitted] cycles), and long data retention ([Formula Omitted] s at 85 °C). Such superior characteristics are enabled by ultra-scaled (6 nm) AFE ZrO2 with precisely controlled internal bias ([Formula Omitted]) and high remnant polarization ([Formula Omitted]) through process engineering including work function (WF) modulation of top electrode (TE), O3 treatment of bottom electrode (BE), and AlOx capping. The AFE capacitors demonstrated in this work enable the developing 1T1C AFeRAM with low-power and high-density toward logic-compatible eDRAM.