Introduction

Ferroelectric field effect transistors based on hafnium oxide have become a viable option as embedded non-volatile memory solution due to their high coercive field as well as their compatibility to complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes [1]. In comparison to ferroelectric capacitors, these devices comprise an additional interface layer, which impacts the electrical field distribution in the gate stack and yields a depolarisation field counteracting the polarisation of the ferroelectric, affecting properties like endurance and retention [2, 3]. In consequence, this is expected to affect the wake-up behaviour of the hafnium oxide layer. This has recently been underlined by structural and electrical characterisation of silicon-doped HfO2 (HSO) in metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) stacks [4,5,6]. These layers exhibited pronounced \(\langle \)110\(\rangle \) and [111] out-of-plane textures for the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase as well as dendritically shaped grains [5]. This is in stark contrast to commonly investigated capacitor structures, which have been reported to consist of disc-shaped grains with \(\langle \)100\(\rangle \) out-of-plane textures [7,8,9]. Furthermore, the polarisation hysteresis behaviour ranged from ferroelectric to strongly asymmetric antiferroelectric (AFE)-like behaviour [4, 6]. Additionally, it has been reported that the interface layer is changing in thickness and chemical composition during the dopant activation and crystallisation anneal of the ferroelectric [4, 5]. How this affects the cycling behaviour as well as retention of ferroelectric HSO layers in MFIS stacks is investigated in this article.

Experimental

To investigate the cycling behaviour in HSO-based MFIS capacitors, a controlled chemical oxidised interface with a thickness of \(1.2\pm 0.2\) nm is formed on highly-doped 300 mm Si wafers. The 10 nm hafnium oxide layer is deposited using atomic layer deposition with HfCl4 and SiCl4 precursors (16:1 cycling ratio). Afterwards, a 10 nm TiN layer is added by physical vapour deposition. Crystallisation anneals are performed with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 650 \(^{\circ }\)C, 800 \(^{\circ }\)C, and 1000 \(^{\circ }\)C, respectively.

For a more detailed study of the interface layer influence on retention, the thickness of the interface layer is modified prior to hafnium oxide deposition by rapid thermal oxidation, resulting in a thickness of \(2.7\pm 0.3\) nm and \(3.7\pm 0.4\) nm, respectively. These samples as well as a reference sample with chemical oxidised interface are annealed at 650 \(^{\circ }\)C. No significant interface growth is expected at this temperature [4].

Dynamic hysteresis measurements are performed using an aixACCT TF 3000 Analyser at a frequency of 1 kHz. Electric field cycling was performed under identical conditions. In addition, Preisach densities were measured using first-order reversal (FORC) measurements with a maximum bias of \(\pm\,4.5\) V. Grazing-incident X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) patterns were recorded using a Bruker D8 Discover XRD system scanned over the 2\(\theta \) range from 15° to 45° at a fixed incident angle of 0.5°. In order to extract retention behaviour of these samples, a polarisation state is written and after a certain time, a positive-up-negative-down (PUND) measurement is performed, with a preceding X pulse applied in the same direction as the write pulse. Retention loss (Ploss) is extracted by normalising the difference of initial polarisation of the X pulse (PX) and remanent polarisation PR to the full 2PR extracted from the PUND measurement. Loss of PR+ is given as 1-Ploss, loss of PR- is given as Ploss and triangular signal is pulsed from the bottom.

Results and discussion

The resulting stack structure of the MFIS samples is given in Fig. 1a. Here, the interface growth during crystallisation is clearly visible in case of the 1000 \(^{\circ }\)C RTA. Temperature dependent interface growth has been reported previously for Si and SiGe substrate as well [4, 5]. For the latter, an interface thickness of 0.67 nm and 1.99 nm for 650 \(^{\circ }\)C and 1000 \(^{\circ }\)C has been reported, respectively [4]. As a result, electrical behaviour of samples annealed at different temperatures differs strongly, as depicted in Fig. 1b and c. While the sample annealed at 1000 \(^{\circ }\)C (Fig. 1c) behaves already ferroelectric at the beginning, the slope of the hysteresis becomes much steeper during wake-up, and can be therefore classified as non-split wake-up [6]. Samples annealed at lower temperatures on the other hand show an asymmetric wake-up [6]. Here, the pinching of the hysteresis is reduced with cycling, resulting in a more ferroelectric behaviour (see Fig. 1b).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Structural and electrical characterisation of MFIS stacks. a Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of 1000 \(^{\circ }\)C annealed HSO MFIS cross section. Evolution of the polarisation hysteresis upon electric field cycling for samples annealed at 800 \(^{\circ }\)C (b) and 1000 \(^{\circ }\)C (c). An AFE-like behaviour is observed for 800 \(^{\circ }\)C

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More detailed insight into the evolution of the switching behaviour during wake-up can be gained by investigating the Preisach density using FORC measurements. The sample annealed at 800 °C shows initially three clear peaks (see Fig. 2). In contrast to metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitors, these do not form an isosceles triangle nor do they have a mirror axis along the dashed diagonal (see Fig. 2) [10, 11]. This distortion is most likely a result of the non-linear capacitance of the substrate and/or defect in the interface layer. In addition, band alignment can shift the triangle from the central diagonal. However, after cycling (Fig. 2) a very different Preisach density is observed. In contrast to ferroelectrics, where only one peak is present, two peaks are observed here. The lower distorted one is most likely the ferroelectric one. The upper one, however, would fit to an antiferroelectric-like peak, but is missing its twin. This results in a peculiar behaviour, being ferroelectric in one direction, but antiferroelectric-like in the other one. This behaviour is currently not fully understood, but with the recent proof of ferroelastic switching in polycrystalline hafnium oxide films [6], this is most likely a result of interplay of mechanical stress, band alignment, non-linear silicon capacitance, and defects in the interface layer.

Fig. 2
figure 2

FORC measurements of samples annealed at 800 °C (a, b) and 1000 °C (c, d). AFE-like behaviour (peak splitting) is observed for both samples initially. Sample annealed at 1000 °C behaves ferroelectric after field cycling

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For the sample annealed at 1000 °C on the other hand, two peaks appear initially (Fig. 2) even though it appears ferroelectric in the dynamic hysteresis measurement (Fig. 1c). The additional faint dark blue line is most likely a measurement artefact. Upon cycling these peaks merge and a purely ferroelectric behaviour is observed (Fig. 2). This suggests the presence of ferroelastic switching and reduction of stress during the first cycles of non-split wake-up.

Besides differences in the wake-up behaviour, differences in the endurance can be observed as well (see Fig. 3). Earlier breakdown is observed for samples with lower annealing temperatures and therefore thinner interface layer for a constant amplitude of 5 V. While this appears to be reasonable from changes in the field-drop across the interface layer and ferroelectric layer due to changes in the interface capacitance [12], no significant shifts in the switching voltages are observed for the different samples. This is most likely a result of band alignment, changes in the crystallographic texture combined with only small changes in the interface layer thickness. As a result, improved ferroelectric properties as well as endurance can be achieved by high temperature annealing and therefore increased interface thickness. However, recent studies have shown that the high temperature anneal modifies the crystallographic texture of the ferroelectric [5] and results in a strongly reduced retention of one state [4]. In addition, fatigue of the ferroelectric is observed, as PR reduces close to \(10^4\) cycles.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Endurance behaviour of HSO MFIS stacks. Samples annealed at lower temperatures show early breakdown

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In order to decouple these effects, samples with thermal oxidised interfaces of different thickness are investigated. Since the density might differ compared to chemical oxidised interfaces, the actual equivalent-oxide-thickness will be slightly different. GIXRD patterns of these samples (Fig. 4a) do not show significant differences suggesting no major difference in the crystallographic texture. Dynamic hysteresis measurements of the samples with thicker interfaces already differ in the wake-up behaviour, as depicted in Fig. 4c and d and show non-split wake-up in contrast to the previously observed asymmetric wake-up (see Fig. 4b) for this annealing temperature (650 °C). Consequently, the difference in wake-up are not originating from the difference in crystallographic texture, but is a direct result of changes in the interface layer. In addition, the impact of the thicker interface layer is strongly reflected in the required switching voltage, as expected for the capacitance change [12].

Furthermore, retention measurements of these samples (see Fig. 4e) show similar trends as previously observed. In consequence, the strong destabilisation of one state is a direct result of the increased interface layer thickness. Therefore, optimising interface thickness for ferroelectric-like wake-up comes with a trade-off in retention. However, changes in the chemical composition of the interface layer and therefore the permittivity of the interface layer material could offer a way to circumvent this trade-off.

Fig. 4
figure 4

Impact of interface layer thickness for samples annealed at 650 °C. No increased line intensities are observed for low angles in the GIXRD pattern (a). While AFE-like wake-up is observed for 1.2 nm thick interface (b), ferroelectric-like wake-up is observed for thicker interfaces, as shown for 2.7 nm (c) and 3.7 nm (d), respectively. Retention loss in the negative PR- state (e) becomes more severe with increasing interface thickness

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the interface layer has a major impact on the behaviour and reliability of ferroelectric hafnium oxide in MFIS capacitors, and consequently FeFETs. Thin interface layers result in asymmetric wake-up, during which hystereses with ferroelectric and antiferroelectric-like behaviour on either side of the hysteresis, respectively, can be observed. Furthermore, thicker interface layers result in an initially ferroelectric-like behaviour, with the trade-off of reduced retention of one polarisation direction. Changes in the interface permittivity might help to overcome this trade-off.