CMOS-compatible Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 -based ferroelectric memory crosspoints fabricated with damascene process

• Published in: Nanotechnology Vol. 35; no. 42; p. 425701
• Main Authors: Coffineau, Dorian, Gariépy, Nicolas, Manchon, Benoit, Dawant, Raphaël, Jaouad, Abdelatif, Grondin, Étienne, Ecoffey, Serge, Alibart, Fabien, Beilliard, Yann, Ruediger, Andreas, Drouin, Dominique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 14.10.2024
• Subjects: Ferroelectrics; Damascene; Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2; BEOL compatible
• ISSN: 0957-4484; 1361-6528
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad644f

We report the fabrication of Hf Zr O (HZO) based ferroelectric memory crosspoints using a CMOS-compatible damascene process. In this work, we compared 12 and 56 µm² crosspoint devices with the 0.02 mm² round devices commonly used as a benchmark. For all devices, a 9 nm thick ferroelectric thin film was deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) on planarized bottom electrodes (BE). The wake-up appeared to be longer for the crosspoint memories compared to 0.02 mm² benchmark, while all the devices reached a 2P value of ~ 50 µC/cm² after 10 cycles with 3 V/10 µs squared pulses. The crosspoints stand out for their superior endurance, which was increased by an order of magnitude. Nucleation limited switching (NLS) experiments were performed, revealing a switching time < 170 ns for our 12 and 56 µm² devices, while it remained in the µs range for the larger round devices. The downscaled devices demonstrate notable advantages with a rise in endurance and switching speed.