Historical Foundation and Practical Guideline for Ferroelectric Switching Kinetic Studies

TL;DR

This paper highlights how measurement circuit effects distort ferroelectric switching data, affecting interpretations of kinetics, and proposes guidelines for more accurate, circuit-aware analysis and modeling.

Contribution

It critically assesses existing models, demonstrates circuit-induced distortions, and provides practical guidelines for improved ferroelectric switching kinetic studies.

Findings

Circuit effects distort voltage waveforms in sub-ns regime

Neglecting voltage variations leads to unphysical kinetic interpretations

Guidelines for circuit-aware measurements and modeling are proposed

Abstract

Electrical measurements of ferroelectric switching kinetics are widely used to probe the dynamics of polarization reversal, yet the influence of the measurement circuit is often underappreciated. In this paper, we show that the interplay between ferroelectric capacitors and circuit elements produces distorted, time-dependent voltage waveforms across the device, particularly in the sub-ns regime. We examine how these circuit contributions affect polarization transients extracted from PUND measurements. The resulting distortions scale with supply voltage, capacitor dimensions, and lumped circuit elements, but are not accounted for in conventional experimental analyses or analytical model fitting. We then critically assess existing nucleation and growth models and show that neglecting the time-varying voltage profile can lead to unphysical interpretations of switching kinetics, most notably in the extracted growth dimensionality represented by the Avrami exponent. Finally, we outline guidelines for future studies, emphasizing the need for direct voltage monitoring and circuit-aware de-embedding, as well as modeling frameworks that incorporate voltage-dependent nucleation and growth rates based on intrinsic material parameters.