Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors

Impacts of post-heat treatment in a H2-contained (97% Ar and 3% H2) atmosphere on the switching kinetics of (001)-oriented AlScN capacitors are investigated. Fully saturated polarization can be obtained for all capacitors at frequencies of 50 Hz–50 kHz. In contrast to other ferroelectric materials,...

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Main Authors: Nana Sun, Kazuki Okamoto, Shinnosuke Yasuoka, Soshun Doko, Naoko Matsui, Toshikazu Irisawa, Koji Tsunekawa, Haidong Lu, Alexei Gruverman, Hiroshi Funakubo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2025-05-01
Series:APL Materials
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0268889
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author Nana Sun
Kazuki Okamoto
Shinnosuke Yasuoka
Soshun Doko
Naoko Matsui
Toshikazu Irisawa
Koji Tsunekawa
Haidong Lu
Alexei Gruverman
Hiroshi Funakubo
author_facet Nana Sun
Kazuki Okamoto
Shinnosuke Yasuoka
Soshun Doko
Naoko Matsui
Toshikazu Irisawa
Koji Tsunekawa
Haidong Lu
Alexei Gruverman
Hiroshi Funakubo
author_sort Nana Sun
collection DOAJ
description Impacts of post-heat treatment in a H2-contained (97% Ar and 3% H2) atmosphere on the switching kinetics of (001)-oriented AlScN capacitors are investigated. Fully saturated polarization can be obtained for all capacitors at frequencies of 50 Hz–50 kHz. In contrast to other ferroelectric materials, the domain wall movement behavior does not change after the heat treatment with frequency. The switching behavior follows the Kolmogorov–Avrami–Ishibashi (KAI) model, and the dimension of domain growth, n, values are ∼1–2 for all films before and after the H2-contained heat treatment. The domain nucleation and lateral domain growth in both the electric field- and time-dependent domain dynamics visualized by piezoresponse force microscopy are consistent with the KAI model. The activation energy increases slightly for the film after the heat treatment. This highly resilient switching behavior brings the AlScN films one step closer to realizing the next generation of nonvolatile memory technologies.
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spelling doaj-art-5750aa7dbcf943dfade868451c0634532025-08-20T01:58:41ZengAIP Publishing LLCAPL Materials2166-532X2025-05-01135051106051106-810.1063/5.0268889Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitorsNana Sun0Kazuki Okamoto1Shinnosuke Yasuoka2Soshun Doko3Naoko Matsui4Toshikazu Irisawa5Koji Tsunekawa6Haidong Lu7Alexei Gruverman8Hiroshi Funakubo9Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yokohama 226-8502, JapanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yokohama 226-8502, JapanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yokohama 226-8502, JapanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yokohama 226-8502, JapanCanon ANELVA Corporation, 5-1 Kurigi 2-chome, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 215-8550, JapanCanon ANELVA Corporation, 5-1 Kurigi 2-chome, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 215-8550, JapanCanon ANELVA Corporation, 5-1 Kurigi 2-chome, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 215-8550, JapanDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0299, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0299, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yokohama 226-8502, JapanImpacts of post-heat treatment in a H2-contained (97% Ar and 3% H2) atmosphere on the switching kinetics of (001)-oriented AlScN capacitors are investigated. Fully saturated polarization can be obtained for all capacitors at frequencies of 50 Hz–50 kHz. In contrast to other ferroelectric materials, the domain wall movement behavior does not change after the heat treatment with frequency. The switching behavior follows the Kolmogorov–Avrami–Ishibashi (KAI) model, and the dimension of domain growth, n, values are ∼1–2 for all films before and after the H2-contained heat treatment. The domain nucleation and lateral domain growth in both the electric field- and time-dependent domain dynamics visualized by piezoresponse force microscopy are consistent with the KAI model. The activation energy increases slightly for the film after the heat treatment. This highly resilient switching behavior brings the AlScN films one step closer to realizing the next generation of nonvolatile memory technologies.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0268889
spellingShingle Nana Sun
Kazuki Okamoto
Shinnosuke Yasuoka
Soshun Doko
Naoko Matsui
Toshikazu Irisawa
Koji Tsunekawa
Haidong Lu
Alexei Gruverman
Hiroshi Funakubo
Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors
APL Materials
title Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors
title_full Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors
title_fullStr Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors
title_full_unstemmed Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors
title_short Effect of H2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric AlScN capacitors
title_sort effect of h2 heat treatment on the switching behavior of ferroelectric alscn capacitors
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0268889
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