Low-temperature microwave annealing stabilizes the morphotropic phase boundary in HfO2/ZrO2 superlattice heterostructures
Abstract
This study presents a method for achieving stable morphotropic phase boundary characteristics in superlattice HfO2/ZrO2 (SL-HZO)-based metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitors using low-temperature microwave annealing (MWA) technology. Compared to conventional rapid thermal annealing, MWA-treated SL-HZO-based MFM capacitors exhibit excellent dielectric properties (κ = 51) at reduced processing temperatures. These devices also demonstrate improved reliability, including lower leakage current, higher breakdown strength, and an operational lifetime exceeding 10 years at voltages up to 2.54 V. This approach mitigates thermal budget limitations in back-end-of-line processes while enhancing device performance, offering a promising solution for advanced integrated circuit applications.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (10)
Chen-You Wei
College of Semiconductor Research, National Tsing Hua University 1 , Hsinchu,
Yu-Hong Chen
Tzu-I Kao
Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University 2 , Hsinchu,
Cheng-En Wu
Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University 2 , Hsinchu,
Chao-Wei Wu
Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University 2 , Hsinchu,
Heng-Jia Chang
Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University 2 , Hsinchu,
Yi-Ju Yao
College of Semiconductor Research, National Tsing Hua University 1 , Hsinchu,
Fu-Ju Hou
Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute 3 , Hsinchu 30078,
Guang-Li Luo
Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute 3 , Hsinchu 30078,
Yung-Chun Wu
College of Semiconductor Research, National Tsing Hua University 1 , Hsinchu,