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We demonstrate ferroelectric switching in CeO2-doped Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZCO) thin films and their applications for back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible embedded memories. At low cerium oxide doping concentrations (2.0 -5.6 mol%), the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase is stabilized after annealing at temperatures below 400 ℃. HZCO ferroelectrics show reliable switching characteristics beyond 10 11 cycles in TiN/HZCO/TiN (MFM) capacitors, several orders magnitude higher than the identically processed Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) capacitors, without sacrificing polarization and retention.Internal photoemission and photoconductivity experiments show that CeO2-doping introduces in-gap states in HZCO that are nearly aligned with TiN Fermi level, facilitating the electron injection through these states. The enhanced background conductivity, which may lead to more uniform thermal dissipation in the HZCO films, delays the irreversible degradation that leads to the device failures.

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