Ferroelectricity in Ultrathin HfO₂-Based Films by Nanosecond Laser Annealing.

ABSTRACT: Nonvolatile memory devices based on ferroelectric Hf_xZr_1-xO₂ (HZO) show great promise for back-end integrable storage and for neuromorphic accelerators, but their adoption is held back by the inability to scale down the HZO thickness without violating the strict thermal restrictions of the Si CMOS back end of line. In this work, we overcome this challenge and demonstrate the use of nanosecond pulsed laser annealing (NLA) to locally crystallize areas of an ultrathin (3.6 nm) HZO film into the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase. Meanwhile, the heat induced by the pulsed laser is confined to the layers above the Si, allowing for back-end compatible integration. We use a combination of electrical characterization, nanofocused scanning X-ray diffract

SUBMITTER: Athle R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11492164 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature