Ferroelectric HfO2-ZrO2 multilayers with reduced wake-up
Abstract
Since the discovery of ferroelectricity in HfO2 thin films, significant research has focused on Zr-doped HfO2 and solid solution (Hf,Zr)O2 thin films. Functional properties can be further tuned via multilayering, however, this approach has not yet been fully explored in HfO2-ZrO2 films. This work demonstrates ferroelectricity in a 50 nm thick, solution-processed HfO2-ZrO2 multilayer film, marking it as the thickest multilayer film to date exhibiting ferroelectric properties. The multilayer structure was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, with high-resolution TEM revealing grain continuity across multiple layers. This finding indicates that a polar phase in the originally paraelectric ZrO2 layer, can be stabilized by the HfO2 layer. The film attains a remanent polarization of 9 uC/cm2 and exhibits accelerated wake-up behavior, attributed to its higher breakdown strength resulting from the incorporation of multiple interfaces. These results offer a faster wake-up mechanism for thick ferroelectric hafnia films.
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