Anti-ferroelectric ZrO_2: An Enabler for Low Power Non-volatile 1T-1C and 1T Random Access Memories

摘要

Recently it was demonstrated that an asymmetric DRAM capacitor stack can introduce non-volatility and at the same time outperform ferroelectric HfO_2 based FeRAM in terms of cycle endurance. With the present work, we provide an in-depth study of the underlying mechanisms and perform a comprehensive retention study that characterizes ferroelectric memories. Piezoelectric force microscopy is applied to prove the ultimate scalability of the proposed concept beyond capacitor based application. Finally, switching density plots reveal a much lower device to device variability and high switching uniformity with respect to ferroelectric HfO_2 based films.