Fatigue-free ferroelectricity in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 ultrathin films via interfacial design

Chao Zhou; Yanpeng Feng; Liyang Ma; Haoliang Huang; Yangyang Si; Hailin Wang; Sizhe Huang; Jingxuan Li; Chang-Yang Kuo; Sujit Das; Yunlong Tang; Shi Liu; Zuhuang Chen

arXiv · 2501.06754

Fatigue-free ferroelectricity in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 ultrathin films via interfacial design

Chao Zhou·Yanpeng Feng·Liyang Ma·Haoliang Huang·Yangyang Si·Hailin Wang·Sizhe Huang·Jingxuan Li·Chang-Yang Kuo·Sujit Das·Yunlong Tang·Shi Liu·Zuhuang Chen

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Abstract

Due to traits of CMOS compatibility and scalability, HfO2-based ferroelectrics are promising candidates for next-generation memory devices. However, their commercialization has been greatly hindered by reliability issues, with fatigue being a major impediment. We report the fatigue-free behavior in interface-designed Hf0.5Zr0.5O2-based heterostructures. A coherent CeO2-x/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 heterointerface is constructed, wherein CeO2-x acts as an oxygen sponge, capable of reversibly accepting and releasing oxygen vacancies. This design effectively alleviates defect aggregation at the electrode-ferroelectric interface, enabling improved switching characteristics. Further, a symmetric capacitor architecture is designed to minimize the imprint, thereby suppressing the cycling-induced oriented defect drift. The two-pronged technique mitigates oxygen-voltammetry-generated chemical/energy fluctuations, suppressing the formation of paraelectric phase and polarization degradation. The design ensures a fatigue-free feature exceeding 10^11 switching cycles and an endurance lifetime surpassing 10^12 cycles for Hf0.5Zr0.5O2-based capacitors, along with excellent temperature stability and retention. These findings pave the way for developing ultra-stable hafnia-based ferroelectric devices.

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Chao Zhou, Yanpeng Feng, Liyang Ma, Haoliang Huang, Yangyang Si, Hailin Wang, Sizhe Huang, Jingxuan Li, Chang-Yang Kuo, Sujit Das, Yunlong Tang, Shi Liu, Zuhuang Chen. 2025-01-12. Fatigue-free ferroelectricity in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 ultrathin films via interfacial design. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06754

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