Ferroelectricity in Ce0.2-HfO2 films around 500 nm in thickness.

CeO 2 -HfO 2 solid solution thin films (Hf 1-x Ce x O 2) were deposited on Pt(111)/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si(100) substrates using the chemical solution deposition method. This study investigates the influence of CeO 2 content and annealing temperature on the structure and ferroelectric properties of Hf 1-x Ce x O 2 films. Ferroelectric behavior is demonstrated in polycrystalline Hf 0.80 Ce 0.20 O 2 films with thicknesses ranging from 163 to 524 nm. And the structure of the films is analyzed using glancing incidence X-ray diffraction. The comprehensive results indicate that Hf 0.80 Ce 0.20 O 2 films annealed at 850 °C exhibit excellent ferroelectricity. Square hysteresis loops associated with the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase are observed, even in the 524-nm-thick film. The remnant polarization (P r) and coercive field (E c) range from 16 to 18 μC/cm2 and 1100–1250 kV/cm, respectively, under a maximum applied electric field of 2 MV/cm for all Hf 0.80 Ce 0.20 O 2 films. Furthermore, the film presents thickness-insensitive characteristic. The current work paves the new way to design high-performance thick HfO 2 -based ferroelectric films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]