A Novel Methodology of Visualizing Orthorhombic Phase Uniformity in Ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 Devices Using Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

TL;DR

This paper presents a new PFM technique for 2D mapping of orthorhombic phase uniformity in ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films, revealing optimal film thickness for ferroelectric performance.

Contribution

Introduces a novel PFM-based approach for detailed 2D phase mapping in HZO films, enhancing phase analysis accessibility and accuracy.

Findings

9 nm film shows the most uniform O-phase

9 nm film has the highest remnant polarization

PFM method enables phase characterization without complex facilities

Abstract

Ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin films are promising for next-generation memory and logic devices due to their CMOS compatibility and scalability. The spatial uniformity of the orthorhombic (O) phase is crucial for optimizing ferroelectric properties like remnant polarization. This work introduces a novel piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) approach for 2D mapping of O-phase uniformity in HZO films (5 nm, 9 nm, and 20 nm), further quantifing O-phase distribution by distinguishing polarized O-phase regions from non-polarized tetragonal/monoclinic (T/M) phases. Our results reveal that the 9 nm film exhibits the most uniform O-phase and highest remnant polarization. This PFM-based method enables comprehensive phase characterization without requiring complicated facilities, broadening access to phase analysis and advancing ferroelectric thin-film research for memory and logic applications.