Metal-Ferroelectric-Metal Structure for FeFET: Empowering High Performance in Data Storage Technology

Ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFETs) have emerged as a promising non-volatile memory technology because of its high r/w speeds, low power consumption. Among the various ferroelectric materials, hafinium-zirconium oxide (HZO) thin films are compatible with CMOS processes and maintain ferroelectric properties even at thickness below about 10 nm. Also, HZO film have large remanent polarization (P_r) of approximately 13 ~ 26 \({\upmu }\text{C}/\text{c}\text{m}\) ² when positioned between titanium nitride (TiN) electrodes and have low crystallization temperature approximately 400 ℃ by atomic layer deposition (ALD). In HZO thin films, Wake-up effect is a significant challenge. To address this issue, ZrO₂ seed layer is inserted between the ferroelectric layer and the electrode, enhancing the ferroelectric properties with reported values of 22.3 \({\upmu }\text{C}/\text{c}\text{m}\) ² for P_r and 2.7 V for coercive voltage (V_c). This paper focus on properties of the HZO thin films, comparing with conventional ferroelectrics. Additionally, challenges and solutions related HZO thin films are being discussed with the aim of advancing ferroelectric memory devices.