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Ferroelectric Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 Thin Films Crystallized by Pulsed Laser Annealing
Author(s) -
Voloditalia,
Dmitriyeva Anna,
Chouprik Anastasia,
Gatskevich Elena,
Zenkevich Andrei
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.202100082
Subject(s) - ferroelectricity , materials science , crystallization , amorphous solid , annealing (glass) , pulsed laser deposition , thin film , analytical chemistry (journal) , laser , optoelectronics , orthorhombic crystal system , optics , dielectric , diffraction , crystallography , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , chromatography
The crystallization of as‐grown amorphous Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 (HZO) thin films to the metastable ferroelectric phase by pulsed laser annealing (PLA) is investigated. PLA experiments are conducted using a Nd:YAG laser operating in two regimes: Q ‐switched mode with a pulse duration of τ ≈ 16 ns and free‐running mode ( τ ≈ 1 ms). The crystallization of a ferroelectric orthorhombic phase in the annealed films is confirmed by X‐ray diffraction, polarization versus electric field ( P–E ) measurements, and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) analyses. Remnant polarization up to 2 P r ≈ 50 μC cm −2 is achieved in the TiN/HZO/W capacitor structures grown on the Si substrate and subjected to millisecond PLA. In contrast, the use of laser annealing in a 10 ns pulse duration range is found ineffective for the crystallization of any HZO phase in capacitor structures. Detailed PFM analysis across a capacitor device area reveals the effect of the local temperature on the sample surface during PLA on the resulting ferroelectric domain structure. The lower thermal impact on the substrate during PLA opens the possibility of creating local areas of the ferroelectric phase in HZO films using reflecting copper masks.