Interface-Roughness Effect on Polarization Switching and Reliability Performance of Doped-HfO₂ Capacitors

In this article, the influence of interface roughness on the ferroelectric (FE) performance of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) films was experimentally investigated. The HZO capacitor with a rough interface structure shows a higher remnant polarization (P-r) than that with a flat interface structure. However, although the device with the rough interface can achieve an improved P-r value, it generates a higher electric field within the HZO film and causes more obvious charge injection at the TaON/HZO interface, leading to the increase of interface traps (D-it) and leakage current (J(leakage)) as well as the degradation of endurance. The study is helpful for understanding and optimizing the growth technics of HfO2-based FE memory for advanced node technology.