Impact of asymmetric electrodes on ferroelectricity of sub-10 nm HZO thin films

Abstract In this study, platinum (Pt) and tungsten (W), two materials with dissimilar coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and work functions (WF), are used as the top electrode (TE) and the bottom electrode (BE) in metal/ferroelectric/metal (MFM) structures to explore the ferroelectricity of hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) with a thickness less than 10 nm. The electrical measurements indicate that a higher CTE mismatch between HZO and TE/BE is beneficial for enhancing the ferroelectric properties of nanoscale HZO thin films. The different WFs of TE and BE generate a built-in electric field in the HZO layer, leading to shifts in the hysteresis loops and the capacitance–voltage characteristics. The structural characterizations reveal that the preferred formation of the orthorhombic phase in HZO is dominated by the W BE. The device in which W is used as the TE and BE (the W/HZO/W MFM structure) presents the optimal ferroelectric performance of a high remanent polarization (2 P r = 55.2 μ C cm −2 ). The presence of tungsten oxide (WO x ) at the W/HZO interfaces, as revealed by high-resolution transmission microscopy, is also responsible for the enhancement of ferroelectric properties. This study demonstrates the significant effects of different CTEs and WFs of TE and BE on the properties of ferroelectric HZO thin films.