Controlling Resistance Switching Performances of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 Films by Substrate Stress and Potential in Neuromorphic Computing

Abstract

Ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin films have attracted wide attention in terms of potential applications of nonvolatile ferroelectric memories. However, the effect of strain on the resistance switching characteristics of the ferroelectric HZO thin‐film memristors has not been fully studied so far. In this work, the strain effects on the HZO thin‐film memristors are investigated. HZO films with different resistance properties are also prepared by controlling the value of oxygen pressure. Based on the testing results, it is proposed that the resistance switching behavior of HZO films may be caused by the joint participation between ferroelectricity and oxygen vacancy migration. The study also found that HZO films can successfully simulate learning behavior similar to the human brain. The applied pulses with a width of tens of nanoseconds timescale are beneficial to realize fast learning and computing. These results provide a fundamental and deep insight on HZO‐based ferroelectric semiconductor oxide thin‐film memristors and their potential applications in next‐generation artificial electronic synaptic devices.