Frequency dependence on polarization switching measurement in ferroelectric capacitors

Abstract Ferroelectric hysteresis loop measurement under high driving frequency generally faces great challenges. Parasitic factors in testing circuits such as leakage current and RC delay could result in abnormal hysteresis loops with erroneous remnant polarization ( P r ) and coercive field ( E c ). In this study, positive-up-negative-down (PUND) measurement under a wide frequency range was performed on a 10-nm thick Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 ferroelectric film. Detailed analysis on the leakage current and RC delay was conducted as the polarization switching occurs in the FE capacitor. After considering the time lag caused by RC delay, reasonable calibration of current response over the voltage pulse stimulus was employed in the integral of polarization current over time. In such a method, rational P–V loops measured at high frequencies (>1 MHz) was successfully achieved. This work provides a comprehensive understanding on the effect of parasitic factors on the polarization switching behavior of FE films.