The effect of boron incorporation on leakage and wake-up in ferroelectric Al1−xScxN

Abstract

This study explores the influence of boron incorporation on the structural and electrical properties of ferroelectric aluminum scandium nitride (Al1-xScxN) thin films, focusing on leakage currents, wake-up effects, and imprint behavior. Al1-xScxN films were incorporated with varying boron concentrations and analyzed under different deposition conditions to determine their structural integrity and ferroelectric performance. Key findings include a reduction in leakage currents, non-trivial alterations in bandgap energy, and an increasing coercive field with increasing boron content. Films with 6–13 at. % boron exhibited N-polar growth, while those with 16 at. % boron showed mixed polarity after deposition, which affected their ferroelectric response during the initial switching cycles—as did the addition of boron itself compared to pure Al1-xScxN. With increasing boron content, wake-up became gradually more pronounced and was strongest for pure Al1-xBxN.