Invariant polarization switching kinetics in an (Al0.8Sc0.2)N film with frequency and temperature

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 123; no. 20
• Main Authors: Yasuoka, Shinnosuke, Mizutani, Ryoichi, Ota, Reika, Shiraishi, Takahisa, Shimizu, Takao, Okamoto, Kazuki, Uehara, Masato, Yamada, Hiroshi, Akiyama, Morito, Funakubo, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 13.11.2023
• Subjects: Applied physics; Coercivity; Domain walls; Electric fields; Invariants; Kinetics; Pulse duration; Room temperature; Switching; Thin films
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0171108

In this study, the switching kinetics in a (001)-out-of-plane-oriented (Al0.8Sc0.2)N thin film were systematically investigated as a function of temperature and frequency. The switching behavior followed the Kolmogorov–Avrami–Ishibashi model within the temperature and write-pulse width ranges of 300–473 K and 10 Hz–600 kHz, respectively. The switching speed increased linearly with the electric field, even at high electric fields. The frequency dependence of the coercive field (Ec) evaluated at room temperature revealed that the scaling regime of the domain-wall propagation did not transition to the flow regime, and the switching velocity of the domain increased linearly with the electric field even at high frequencies up to 600 kHz. The invariant domain-wall motion regime implies the potential of using (Al,Sc)N films for high-frequency applications. In addition, a formula for estimating the coercive field of an (Al,Sc)N film was derived by fitting the parameters obtained from the study of switching behavior. The formula indicated that the switching electric field tends to become insensitive to frequency as temperature increases. Moreover, the frequency dependency of the field was minimal even at room temperature. This is a useful index for estimating the drive voltage at the operating frequency and temperature.