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Using a tiered deposition approach, Hf1-xZrxO2 (HZO) films with varying atomic layer deposition (ALD) cycles from 36 to 52 cycles were grown on Ge, Ir, and TiN substrates in single runs and annealed at 500 °C. 40 ALD cycle films grown on Ir exhibit a switched polarization (Psw) of 13 μC/cm2, while those grown on Ge and TiN did not exhibit measurable Psw values until 44 and 52 ALD cycles, respectively. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy confirmed these results; the ferroelectric films are crystalline with defined lattice fringes, while non-ferroelectric films remain amorphous. 52 ALD cycle 1:1 HZO grown on Ge had the highest Psw of all the films fabricated at 39 μC/cm2, while the 1:1 HZO grown on TiN displayed continuous wake-up and no fatigue up to 1010 cycles with the Psw increasing from <1 μC/cm2 to 21 μC/cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric HfO2thin films 10 nm thick are simultaneously doped with Al and Si. The arrangement of the Al and Si dopant layers within the HfO2 greatly influences the resulting ferroelectric properties of the polycrystalline thin films. Optimizing the order of the Si and Al dopant layers led to a remanent polarization of ~20 μC/cm² and a coercive field strength of ~1.2 MV/cm. Post-metallization anneal temperatures from 700 °C to 900 °C were used to crystallize the Al and Si doped HfO2thin films. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction detected differences in peak broadening between the mixed Al and Si doped HfO2thin films, indicating that strain may influence the formation of the ferroelectric phase with variations in the dopant layering. Endurance characteristics show that the mixed Al and Si doped HfO2thin films exhibit a remanent polarization greater than 15 μC/cm² up to 108 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic layer deposited Si-doped HfO2 thin films approximately 10 nm thick are deposited with various Si-dopant concentrations and distributions. The ferroelectric behavior of the HfO2 thin films are shown to be dependent on both the Si mol. % and the distribution of Si-dopants. Metal-ferroelectricinsulator- semiconductor capacitors are shown to exhibit a tunable remanent polarization through the adjustment of the Si-dopant distribution at a constant Si concentration. Inhomogeneous layering of Si-dopants within the thin films effectively lowers the remanent polarization. A pinched hysteresis loop is observed for higher Si-dopant concentrations and found to be dependent on the Si layering distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]