Low-temperature crystallization and paraelectric–ferroelectric phase transformation in nanoscale ZrO2 thin films induced by atomic layer plasma treatment

In recent years, Hf/ZrO2-based thin films have emerged as promising candidates for ferroelectric materials in various applications. However, achieving ferroelectricity with a low-temperature process has remained a challenging task. In this study, the atomic layer plasma treatment (ALPT) technique, w...

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Published inJournal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Vol. 8; no. 11; pp. 3669 - 3677
Main Authors Sheng-Han, Yi, Kuei-Wen Huang, Lin, Hsin-Chih, Chen, Miin-Jang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 01.01.2020
Subjects
Atomic layer epitaxy
Biomedical materials
Crystallization
Densification
Endurance
Energy storage
Ferroelectric materials
Ferroelectricity
High temperature
Low temperature
Orthorhombic phase
Phase transitions
Plasma
Switching
Thin films
Zirconium dioxide
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Summary:In recent years, Hf/ZrO2-based thin films have emerged as promising candidates for ferroelectric materials in various applications. However, achieving ferroelectricity with a low-temperature process has remained a challenging task. In this study, the atomic layer plasma treatment (ALPT) technique, where an in situ Ar plasma treatment is introduced into each cycle of atomic layer deposition (ALD), was used to achieve crystallization and ferroelectricity in as-deposited ZrO2 thin films at a low temperature of 250 °C. The ALPT treatment effectively contributes to a high-temperature annealing effect, leading to enhanced crystallization and densification of the films. In addition, the ALPT process also induces a transformation from paraelectric to ferroelectric orthorhombic phase in the as-deposited ZrO2 thin films, exhibiting a high ferroelectric switching polarization of 30 μC cm−2 along with great endurance characteristics up to 108 switching cycles. This study demonstrates that ALPT is an effective approach to enhance and tailor the crystallization and dielectric characteristics of nanoscale thin films at a low temperature, which is highly advantageous and demanded in a variety of applications and research fields encompassing nanoelectronic, energy storage, and biomedical devices.
ISSN:2050-7526
2050-7534
DOI:10.1039/c9tc04801d