Evolution of phases and ferroelectric properties of thin Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films according to the thickness and annealing temperature

The effects of annealing temperature (T-anneal) and film thickness (t(f)) on the crystal structure and ferroelectric properties of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films were examined. The Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films consist of tetragonal, orthorhombic, and monoclinic phases. The orthorhombic phase content, which is responsible for the ferroelectricity in this material, is almost independent of T-anneal, but decreases with increasing t(f). In contrast, increasing T-anneal and t(f) monotonically increases (decreases) the amount of monoclinic (tetragonal) phase, which coincides with the variations in the dielectric constant. The remanant polarization was determined by the content of orthorhombic phase as well as the spatial distribution of other phases. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.