Root cause of degradation in novel HfO2-based ferroelectric memories

HfO2-based ferroelectrics reveal full scalability and CMOS integratability compared to perovskite-based ferroelectrics that are currently used in non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs). Up to now, the mechanisms responsible for the decrease of the memory window have not been revealed. Thus, the main scope of this study is an identification of the root causes for the endurance degradation. Utilizing trap density spectroscopy for examining defect evolution with cycling of the device studied together with modeling of the degradation resulted in an understanding of the main mechanisms responsible for degradation of the ferroelectric behavior.