Hf0.5Zr0.5O2-based ferroelectric bionic electronic synapse device with highly symmetrical and linearity weight modification

• Published in: Electronics letters Vol. 56; no. 16; pp. 840 - 843
• Main Authors: Tian, Guo-Liang, Bi, Jin-Shun, Xu, Gao-Bo, Xi, Kai, Xu, Yan-Nan, Yang, Xue-Qin, Yin, Hua-Xiang, Xu, Qiu-Xia, Li, Yong-Liang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Institution of Engineering and Technology 06.08.2020
• Subjects: bionic electronic synapses; capacitor‐based bionic synapse; depression properties; dielectric polarisation; ferroelectric bionic electronic synapse device; ferroelectric capacitors; ferroelectric materials; hafnium compounds; Hf0.5Zr0.5O2; HfO2:Zr; high‐density integration; HZO layer; multidomain properties; multilevel capacitance modulation; net polarisation vectors; neuromorphic computing; neuromorphic engineering; neuromorphic hardware; partial polarisation switching; potentiation properties; Semiconductor technology; symmetrical linearity weight modification; voltage‐controlled polarisation; weight‐modulation properties; zirconium; neuromorphic engineering; ferroelectric bionic electronic synapse device; hafnium compounds; neuromorphic hardware; symmetrical linearity weight modification; voltage-controlled polarisation; HfO2:Zr; neuromorphic computing; Hf0.5Zr0.5O2; partial polarisation switching; potentiation properties; ferroelectric capacitors; bionic electronic synapses; weight-modulation properties; ferroelectric materials; multidomain properties; net polarisation vectors; depression properties; multilevel capacitance modulation; zirconium; dielectric polarisation; high-density integration; capacitor-based bionic synapse; HZO layer
• ISSN: 0013-5194; 1350-911X; 1350-911X
• DOI: 10.1049/el.2020.0423

Bionic electronic synapses with weight-modulation properties are promising alternative candidates when compared with traditional CMOS based neuromorphic hardware when building at-scale neural networks for efficient neuromorphic computing. In this Letter, due to the partial polarisation switching of multi-domain properties in polycrystalline Zr-doped HfO2 (HZO) ferroelectric materials, a capacitor-based bionic synapse was proposed, which showed multi-level capacitance modulation characteristics. By switching the voltage-controlled polarisation, the capacitance was gradually modulated via the variation of net polarisation vectors in the HZO layer. The potentiation and depression properties can be achieved with better linearity, symmetry and multiple states. This Letter laid the groundwork for realising the high-density integration neuromorphic computing system by using ferroelectric capacitors as the bionic synapse.