Geometric effects in the measurement of the remanent ferroelectric polarization at the nanoscale

Abstract

A resurgence of research on ferroelectric materials has recently occurred due to their potential to enhance the performance of memory and logic. For the design and commercialization of such technologies, it is important to understand the physical behavior of ferroelectrics and the interplay with device size, geometry, and fabrication processes. Here, we report a study of geometric factors that can influence the measurement of the remanent ferroelectric polarization, an important measurement for understanding wakeup, retention, and endurance in ferroelectric technologies. The areal size scaling of W/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/W capacitors is compared in two typical structures: an island top electrode with a continuous ferroelectric layer and an island top electrode/ferroelectric layer (etched ferroelectric layer). Error in the evaluation of the switched area leads to anomalous scaling trends and increasing apparent remanent polarization as capacitor sizes decrease, most strongly in continuous ferroelectric layer capacitors. Using TEM and electric field simulations, this is attributed to two effects: a processing artifact from ion milling that creates a foot on the top electrode and a fringe electric field penetrating outside of the capacitor area. With the correction of the switching area, the 2Pr for both samples agree (∼32 μC cm−2) and is invariant in the capacitor sizes used (down to 400 nm diameter). Our work demonstrates that the determination of the actual capacitor structure and local electric field is needed to evaluate the intrinsic ferroelectric behavior at the nanoscale.