Data retention and low voltage operation of Al2O3/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 based ferroelectric tunnel junctions
- 15 June 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Nanotechnology
- Vol. 31 (39), 39LT01
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ab9cf7
Abstract
Ferroelectric random-access memories based on conventional perovskite materials are non-volatile but suffer from lack of CMOS compatibility, scalability limitation, and a destructive reading scheme. On the other hand, Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions (FTJs) based on CMOS compatible hafnium oxide are a promising candidate for future non-volatile memory technology due to their simple structure, scalability, low power consumption, high operation speed, and non-destructive read-out operation. Herein, we report an efficient strategy based on the interface-engineering approach to improve upon the tunneling electroresistance effect and data retention by depositing bilayer oxide heterostructure (Al2O3/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2) using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Ge substrate which is treated in-situ ALD chamber with H2-plasma before film deposition. Integrating a thin ferroelectric layer i.e. Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (8.4 nm) with a thin interface layer i.e. Al2O3 (1 nm) allowed us to reduce the operation (read and write) voltage to 1.4 V, and 4.3 V, respectively, while maintaining a good tunneling electroresistance or ON/OFF ratio above 10. Furthermore, an extrapolation to 1000 years at room temperature gives a residual ON/OFF ratio of 4.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Science Foundation (ECCS 1610387)
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