HfZrOx-Based Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction With Crested Symmetric Band Structure Engineering

HfO2-based ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) devices have been studied as an attractive candidate in future CMOS-compatible ultra-low-power non-volatilememory techniques. However, the relatively low remnant polarization in the HfO2-based thin films are still to be enhanced for further device implementation. Here, we propose an engineered FTJ device with crested symmetric band structure utilizing ZrO2 as the seed layer and capping layer to sandwich the Zr- doped HfO2 (HZO) film. An ultra-thin Al2O3 layer is inserted in HZO which further improves the remnant polarization reaching up to 24.2 mu C/cm(2). The optimized FTJ devices exhibit larger tunneling electrical resistance ratio and higher read and write operation endurance. This illustrates a promising pathway to boost the ferroelectricity in HZO film by structure engineering and can be instructive for practical device applications.

Automated summary

Researchers proposed an engineered FTJ device design to enhance the remnant polarization in HfO2 films through structure engineering. By utilizing ZrO2 as seed and capping layers sandwiching HZO film, and inserting an ultra-thin layer of Al2O3, the remnant polarization was increased for improved device performance.