A Comparative Study on the Polarization, Reliability, and Switching Dynamics of HfO2-ZrO2-HfO2 and ZrO2-HfO2-ZrO2 Superlattice Ferroelectric Films

In this article, the effect of starting layer on the ferroelectric properties and reliability of HfO2-ZrO2- HfO2 (HZH) and ZrO2-HfO2-ZrO2 (ZHZ) superlattice (SL) films were systematically investigated. Compared with that of the ZHZ device, a higher value of remnant polarization (Pr) for the HZH device was achieved. However, the ZHZ structure exhibits a better wake-up performance and frequency stability than HZH, as well as a higher inversion speed and more endurance cycles. Accordingly, a hybrid model involving ferroelectric (FE) polarization and interfacial ion migration is proposed. This study is helpful for understanding and optimizing the HfO2-based FE films for non-volatile memory applications.

Automated summary

In this article, the effect of starting layer on the ferroelectric properties and reliability of HfO2-ZrO2-HfO2 (HZH) and ZrO2-HfO2-ZrO2 (ZHZ) superlattice (SL) films were systematically studied. The HZH device achieved a higher value of remnant polarization (Pr) compared to the ZHZ device. However, the ZHZ structure exhibited better wake-up performance, frequency stability, inversion speed, and endurance cycles. Therefore, a hybrid model involving ferroelectric (FE) polarization and interfacial ion migration is proposed. This study is valuable for understanding and optimizing HfO2-based ferroelectric films for non-volatile memory applications.