Ferroelectricity and ferroelectric resistive switching in sputtered Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films

• Main Authors: Fan, Zhen, Xiao, Juanxiu, Wang, Jingxian, Zhang, Lei, Deng, Jinyu, Liu, Ziyan, Dong, Zhili, Wang, John, Chen, Jingsheng
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Polarization; Ferroelectric thin films
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81526; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40856
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Ferroelectric properties and ferroelectric resistive switching (FE-RS) of sputtered Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin films were investigated. The HZO films with the orthorhombic phase were obtained without capping or post-deposition annealing. Ferroelectricity was demonstrated by polarization-voltage (P-V) hysteresis loops measured in a positive-up negative-down manner and piezoresponse force microscopy. However, defects such as oxygen vacancies caused the films to become leaky. The observed ferroelectricity and semiconducting characteristics led to the FE-RS effect. The FE-RS effect may be explained by a polarization modulated trap-assisted tunneling model. Our study not only provides a facile route to develop ferroelectric HfO2-based thin films but also explores their potential applications in FE-RS memories.