Impact of Zirconium Doping on Steep Subthreshold Switching of Negative Capacitance Hafnium Oxide Based Transistors

Abstract

In this work, it is demonstrated that the negative capacitance effect of ferroelectric Hf1−xZrxO2 transistor is highly correlated with Zr doping concentration. A steep subthreshold swing of 40 mV/decade, a low off‐state leakage current of 190 fA μm−1, and a large on/off current ratio of >107 can be simultaneously achieved in optimized negative capacitance Hf1−xZrxO2 transistor. Besides, the Zr diffusion issue and non‐ferroelectric phases significantly affect the multi‐domain switching of polycrystalline Hf1−xZrxO2. Therefore, an appropriate amount of Zr substitution is more favorable for both boosting ferroelectric and implementing the negative capacitance switch.