Charge transport in amorphous Hf$_{0.5}$Zr$_{0.5}$O$_2$

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrated experimentally and theoretically that the charge transport mechanism in amorphous Hf$_{0.5}$Zr$_{0.5}$O$_2$ is phonon-assisted tunneling between traps like in HfO$_2$ and ZrO$_2$. The thermal trap energy of 1.25 eV and optical trap energy of 2.5 eV in Hf$_{0.5}$Zr$_{0.5}$O$_2$ were determined based on comparison of experimental data on transport with different theories of charge transfer in dielectrics. A hypothesis that oxygen vacancies are responsible for the charge transport in Hf$_{0.5}$Zr$_{0.5}$O$_2$ was discussed.