Oxygen Scavenging in HfZrOx-Based n/p-FeFETs for Switching Voltage Scaling and Endurance/Retention Improvement

The authors demonstrate improved switching voltage, retention, and endurance properties in HfZrOx (HZO)-based n/p-ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs) via oxygen scavenging. Oxygen scavenging using titanium (Ti) in the gate stack successfully reduce the thickness of interfacial oxide between HZO and Si and the oxygen vacancy at the bottom interface of the HZO film. The n/p-FeFETs with scavenging exhibit an immediate read-after-write with stable retention property and improved endurance property. In particular, n-FeFET with scavenging exhibits excellent endurance property that does not show breakdown up to 10(10) cycles. The charge trapping model in the n/p-FeFETs is presented to explain why the effect of oxygen scavenging is more pronounced in n-FeFET than in p-FeFET. Finally, further switching voltage scaling potential is estimated by scavenging and HZO thickness scaling. It is believed that this work contributes to the development of low-power FeFET and the understanding of FeFET operation.