Impact of Temperature-Induced Oxide Defects on HfxZr1-xO2 Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction Memristor Performance

this work, we evaluate the importance of the postmetallization annealing (PMA) temperature on the performance of HfxZr1-xO2 -based ferroelectric tunnel junc-tions (FTJs). Our results indicate a significant difference in tunneling electroresistance (TER) ratio and endurance, depending on the PMA temperature despite negligible variations in remanent polarization. We conclude that the minimization of conductive oxide defect states is central to achieve high performance. Through carefully optimized PMA conditions, we demonstrate FTJs with a TER = 3 and low mean cycle-to-cycle variation of < 1.5% combined with at least 16 separable conductance states providing a 4-bit resolution analog FTJ.

Automated summary

In this study, we evaluate the importance of the postmetallization annealing (PMA) temperature on the performance of HfxZr1-xO2-based ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs). Our results show significant variations in tunneling electroresistance (TER) ratio and endurance depending on the PMA temperature, despite negligible changes in remanent polarization. We conclude that minimizing conductive oxide defect states is crucial for achieving high performance. Through carefully optimized PMA conditions, we demonstrate FTJs with a TER = 3, low mean cycle-to-cycle variation (< 1.5%), and at least 16 separable conductance states, providing a 4-bit resolution analog FTJ.