BEOL Integrated Ferroelectric HfO₂-Based Capacitors for FeRAM: Extrapolation of Reliability Performance to Use Conditions

Alcala, Ruben; Materano, Monica; Lomenzo, Patrick D.; Grenouillet, L.; François, T.; Coignus, J.; Vaxelaire, Nicolas; Carabasse, C.; Chevalliez, S.; Andrieu, F.; Mikolajick, Thomas; Schroeder, Uwe

doi:10.1109/jeds.2022.3198138

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In addition to the P r , reliability, such as endurance, is also an important parameter for the FeRAM application. In this work, the sample survived until 10 7 cycles under the electric field stress, which is in line with the reported value. , It was recently shown that scaling the capacitor area to more realistic values compared to the large test capacitors used in this study will further increase the endurance …”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

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Sputtered Ferroelectric Hafnium–Zirconium Oxide with High Remanent Polarization after Back-End-of-Line Compatible Annealing

Wang

Mikolajick

Grube

2022

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

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The back-end-of-line (BEOL) processing compatibility of sputtered ferroelectric hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) thin films is demonstrated on sputtered TiN/HZO/TiN thin-film ferroelectric capacitors. This promises an easy integration of HfO2-based ferroelectrics for applications such as non-volatile memories. It is found that the sputtering pressure can significantly influence the film growth and morphology of HZO layers. At a sputtering pressure of 5 × 10–3 mbar, deposited HZO films show high remanent polarization (P r) after 400 °C annealing, indicating a high fraction of the polar orthorhombic crystal structure. Additionally, the ferroelectric properties of HZO films were improved by proper tuning of sputtering power. We are able to show that a BEOL-compatible thermal budget (at 400 °C for 1 h) is enough to provoke good ferroelectricity with the 2P r of up to 36 μC/cm2 and an endurance of up to 107 cycles in sputtered HZO films. With such modifications, the sputtered HZO films become comparable to atomic-layer deposited HZO films with a similar thermal budget.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…19,30 It was recently shown that scaling the capacitor area to more realistic values compared to the large test capacitors used in this study will further increase the endurance. 35…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sputtered Ferroelectric Hafnium–Zirconium Oxide with High Remanent Polarization after Back-End-of-Line Compatible Annealing

Wang

Mikolajick

Grube

2022

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

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“…However, the FeRAM based on ferroelectric (Hf,Zr)O 2 has been reported to achieve 10 12 level endurance and there have been optimistic predictions on the achievement of even 10 15 endurance. [ 94b,130 ] Moreover, the possibility of sub‐nanosecond polarization switching upon the application of a sufficiently high electric field has been reported.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The currently achieved endurance for the FeRAM with a reasonable operation electric field is on the order of 10 12 , and an endurance of 10 15 was recently predicted via extrapolation. [ 130 ] Further, for the FeFET, the maximum achieved endurance is in the order of 10 10 . [ 131 ]…”

Section: Semiconductor Applications Based On Emerging Ferroelectricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unveiled Ferroelectricity in Well‐Known Non‐Ferroelectric Materials and Their Semiconductor Applications

Lee,

Cho

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Ferroelectric materials are considered ideal for emerging memory devices owing to their characteristic remanent polarization, which can be switched by applying a sufficient electric field. However, even several decades after the initial conceptualization of ferroelectric memory, its applications are limited to a niche market. The slow advancement of ferroelectric memories can be attributed to several extant issues, such as the absence of ferroelectric materials with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility and scalability. Since the 2010s, ferroelectric memories have attracted increasing interest because of newly discovered ferroelectricity in well‐established CMOS‐compatible materials, which are previously known to be non‐ferroelectric, such as fluorite‐structured (Hf,Zr)O2 and wurtzite‐structured (Al,Sc)N. With advancing material fabrication technologies, for example, accurate chemical doping and atomic‐level thickness control, a metastable polar phase, and switchable polarization with a reasonable electric field can be induced in (Hf,Zr)O2 and (Al,Sc)N. Nonetheless, various issues still exist that urgently require solutions to facilitate the use of the ferroelectric (Hf,Zr)O2 and (Al,Sc)N in emerging memory devices. Thus, ferroelectric (Hf,Zr)O2 and (Al,Sc)N are comprehensively reviewed herein, including their fundamental science and practical applications.

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“…Polarization retention at 85 °C is now discussed, considering imprint as the main limiting factor. [25,36] Imprint was analyzed for each of the capacitor stacks and summarized in Figure 7 (for details see Supporting Information). A more substantial initial hysteresis shift leads to a more significant imprint slope in one direction.…”

Section: Top Electrode Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Electrode‐Ferroelectric Interface as the Primary Constraint on Endurance and Retention in HZO‐Based Ferroelectric Capacitors

Alcala

Materano

Lomenzo

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Ferroelectric hafnium‐zirconium oxide is one of the most relevant CMOS‐compatible materials for next‐generation, non‐volatile memory devices. Nevertheless, performance reliability remains an issue. With TiN electrodes (the most reported electrode material), Hf‐Zr‐based ferroelectric capacitors struggle to provide reliable retention due to electrode‐ferroelectric interface interactions. Although Hf‐Zr‐based ferroelectric capacitors are fabricated with other electrodes, the focus is predominantly directed toward obtaining a large ferroelectric response. The impact of the electrodes on data retention for these ferroelectrics remains underreported and greater insight is needed to improve device reliability. Here, a comprehensive set of electrodes are evaluated with emphasis on the core ferroelectric memory reliability metrics of endurance, retention, and imprint. Metal‐ferroelectric‐metal capacitors comprised of a Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 layer deposited between different combinations of nitride (TiN, TiAlN, and NbN), pure metal (W), and oxide (MoO2, RuO2, and IrO2) top and bottom electrodes are fabricated for the investigation. From the electrical, physical, and structural analysis, the low reactivity of the electrode with the ferroelectric is found to be key for improved reliability of the ferroelectric capacitor. This understanding of interface properties provides necessary insight for the broad implementation of Hf‐Zr‐based ferroelectrics in memory technology and, overall, boosts the development of next‐generation memories.

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BEOL Integrated Ferroelectric HfO₂-Based Capacitors for FeRAM: Extrapolation of Reliability Performance to Use Conditions

Cited by 11 publications

References 16 publications

Sputtered Ferroelectric Hafnium–Zirconium Oxide with High Remanent Polarization after Back-End-of-Line Compatible Annealing

Sputtered Ferroelectric Hafnium–Zirconium Oxide with High Remanent Polarization after Back-End-of-Line Compatible Annealing

Unveiled Ferroelectricity in Well‐Known Non‐Ferroelectric Materials and Their Semiconductor Applications

The Electrode‐Ferroelectric Interface as the Primary Constraint on Endurance and Retention in HZO‐Based Ferroelectric Capacitors

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