A computational study of hafnia-based ferroelectric memories: from ab initio via physical modeling to circuit models of ferroelectric device

摘要

The discovery of ferroelectric properties of binary oxides revitalized theinterest in ferroelectrics and bridged the scaling gap between thestate-of-the-art semiconductor technology and ferroelectric memories. However,before hitting the markets, the origin of ferroelectricity and in-depth studiesof device characteristics are needed. Establishing a correlation between theperformance of the device and underlying physical mechanisms is the first steptoward understanding the device and engineering guidelines for a novel,superior device. Therefore, in this paper a holistic modeling approaches whichlead to a better understanding of ferroelectric memories based on hafnium andzirconium oxide is addressed. Starting from describing the stabilization of theferroelectric phase within the binary oxides via physical modeling the physicalmechanisms of the ferroelectric devices are reviewed. Besides, limitations andmodeling of the multilevel operation and switching kinetics of ultimatelyscaled devices as well as the necessity for Landau-Khalatnikov approach arediscussed. Furthermore, a device-level model of ferroelectric memory devicesthat can be used to study the array implementation and their operationalschemes are addressed. Finally, a circuit model of the ferroelectric memorydevice is presented and potential further applications of ferroelectric devicesare outlined.