Pulse switching characterization of organometallic chemical vapor deposited PbZrxTi1−xO3 thin films for high-density memory applications

Abstract This paper addresses the electrical characterization by fast pulse measurements of organometallic chemical vapor deposited PbZrxTi1−xO3 (PZT) thin films with platinum electrodes on oxidized silicon wafers. Investigations of the switched and non-switched polarization with the pulse amplitude, number of switched cycles (fatigue), pulse width, time (ageing), and the sensitivity to disturbing pulses were made. Different processing conditions (i.e., annealing in oxygen after the deposition and structuring of the top electrode), compositions, thicknesses and operating temperatures (0–100°C) can affect the thin film's ferroelectric properties. Understanding these effects and trends aids in the optimization of PZT for high-density non-volatile random access memories and possibly other device applications. To supplement the understanding of the ferroelectric behavior in the films, transmission electron microscope investigations were made on two different compositions and unfatigued/fatigued capacitors.