Ferroelectric Al1−xScxN has raised much interest in recent years due to its unique ferroelectric properties and complementary metal oxide semiconductor back-end-of-line compatible processing temperatures. Potential applications in embedded nonvolatile memory, however, require ferroelectric materials to switch at relatively low voltages. One approach to achieving a lower switching voltage is to significantly reduce the Al1−xScxN thickness. In this work, ferroelectric behavior in 5–27 nm films of sputter deposited Al0.72Sc0.28N has been studied. We find that the 10 kHz normalized coercive field increases from 4.4 to 7.3 MV/cm when reducing the film thickness from 27.1 to 5.4 nm, while over the same thickness range, the characteristic breakdown field of a 12.5 μm radius capacitor increases from 8.3 to 12.1 MV/cm. The 5.4 nm film demonstrates ferroelectric switching at 5.5 V when excited with a 500 ns pulse and a switching speed of 60 ns.
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29 May 2023
Research Article|
June 01 2023
Ferroelectric behavior of sputter deposited Al0.72Sc0.28N approaching 5 nm thickness
Jeffrey X. Zheng
;
Jeffrey X. Zheng
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Merrilyn Mercy Adzo Fiagbenu
;
Merrilyn Mercy Adzo Fiagbenu
(Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Giovanni Esteves
;
Giovanni Esteves
(Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – review & editing)
3
Microsystems Engineering, Science and Applications, Sandia National Laboratories
, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA
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Pariasadat Musavigharavi
;
Pariasadat Musavigharavi
(Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
2
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Akhil Gunda
;
Akhil Gunda
(Data curation)
2
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Deep Jariwala
;
Deep Jariwala
(Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Eric A. Stach
;
Eric A. Stach
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
4
Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Roy H. Olsson, III
Roy H. Olsson, III
a)
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
Appl. Phys. Lett. 122, 222901 (2023)
Article history
Received:
February 20 2023
Accepted:
May 17 2023
Citation
Jeffrey X. Zheng, Merrilyn Mercy Adzo Fiagbenu, Giovanni Esteves, Pariasadat Musavigharavi, Akhil Gunda, Deep Jariwala, Eric A. Stach, Roy H. Olsson; Ferroelectric behavior of sputter deposited Al0.72Sc0.28N approaching 5 nm thickness. Appl. Phys. Lett. 29 May 2023; 122 (22): 222901. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0147224
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