Abstract
In this work, channel semiconductor is identified and demonstrated to have significant impact on the memory characteristics of ferroelectric field-effect transistors (Fe-FETs). It is understood that, to achieve high electron density at on-state, it requires high hole density at the off-state to realize the charge balance and strong ferroelectric polarization switching in n-type Fe-FETs. Therefore, Fe-FETs with a wider bandgap semiconductor channel have a much smaller memory window than Fe-FETs with a narrower bandgap semiconductor channel due to the insufficient polarization switching. The simple device physics suggests that narrow bandgap semiconductor channel such as Ge is preferred for Fe-FETs with large memory window.
Highlights
Ferroelectric field-effect transistor is a promising device candidate for future non-volatile memory applications
Ferroelectric/dielectric (FE/DE) stack are commonly used in field-effect transistors (Fe-FETs) because it is critical to realize high-quality interface using interfacial layer as an ultrathin DE in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) type transistors atomic layer deposited FE HfO2 is easy to integrate on different semiconductor channels
The memory window (MW) of Fe-FETs exhibits significant dependence on channel materials. It is found Fe-FETs with a narrow bandgap channel have much larger MW than Fe-FETs with a wide bandgap channel. Such phenomenon is understood by the lack of sufficient hole density to satisfy charge balance condition and not enough electric field to trigger polarization switching, which is confirmed by TCAD simulation of electrostatic potential and carrier density
Summary
Ferroelectric field-effect transistor is a promising device candidate for future non-volatile memory applications. Channel materials can have high impact on the memory characteristics of FeFETs if we explore novel materials beyond Si. the ability to achieve both high electron density and high hole density are affected by many other factors such as interface traps, surface traps, bulk traps, bandgap of semiconductor, and device structure, etc.
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