Single-event-upset effect simulation of HfO<sub>2</sub>-based ferroelectric field effect transistor read and write circuits

Abstract

Ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) is a promising memory cell for space application. The FeFET can achieve non-destructive reading, and has the advantages of simple structure and high integration. Ferroelectric thin film’s size effect, retention performance and radiation resistance of ferroelectric thin films directly determine the performances of FeFET devices. The HfO<sub>2</sub> is widely used as a dielectric in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device and can solve the common integration problems for ferroelectric materials due to its CMOS compatibility. When the HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFETs are applied to aerospace electronics, the effects of various radiation particles need to be considered. The HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFET memory is still in the experimental stage, and there are no products of HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFET chips available from the market, so it is difficult to carry out experimental research on its single particle effect In the case of lacking the finished products of HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFET devices, using the device-hybrid simulation method to study the HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFET single-particle effect is a necessary and feasible content for the research on HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFET single-particle effects. In this paper, the device-circuit simulation method is used to build a read-write circuit of HfO<sub>2</sub>-based ferroelectric field-effect transistor. The change of read and write data after a single particle is incident on a ferroelectric field effect transistor memory cell and a sensitive node of a peripheral sense amplifier is studied, and the internal mechanism of read and write data fluctuation is analyzed. The results show that when high-energy particles enter into the drain of the ferroelectric memory cell in the read-write circuit, the memory cells in the “0” state generate electron-hole pairs, which accumulate inside the device, causing the gate electric field strength and ferroelectricity to increase, and the memory cell in the “1” state has a large fluctuation in the output transient pulse voltage signal due to the charge injection of the source, indicating that the ferroelectric memory cell has a good performance against particle flipping; when high-energy particles enter into the amplifier’s sensitive node, a collection current is generated, causing the amplifier in the state of reading “0” to turn on, and the output data to fluctuate. Owing to the fluctuation time being only 0.4 ns, the data does not have single-particle flipping energy under normal readout, and the HfO<sub>2</sub>-based FeFET read-write circuit has excellent resistance to single particles. When two beams of high-energy particles act on the drain of a ferroelectric memory cell successively in a time interval of 0.5 ns, the output data signal fluctuates more than in the case of a single beam of high-energy particles, and the final output voltage difference in the reading and writing “1” state becomes smaller.