Impact of Oxygen Pressure on Ferroelectric Stability of La-doped Hafnia Grown by PLD

Abstract

Thin films of HfO2 doped with 4% La were fabricated on LSMO/STO (100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The stability of the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase in the hafnia films was investigated with respect to varying oxygen pressure during deposition. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were carried out to analyze the structure and composition of the films and correlated with their ferroelectric properties. Surprisingly, the ferroelectricity of the hafnia films showed a dependence on oxygen pressure during deposition of LSMO bottom electrode as well. The reason for this dependence is discussed in terms of the active role of non-lattice oxygen in the ferroelectric switching of hafnia.