Ferroelectricity of Wurtzite Al$_{1-x}$Hf$_{x}$N Heterovalent Alloys

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Bernstein, Nate S. P., Drury, Daniel, Lee, Cheng-Wei, Shimada, Tatau, Sakai, Yuki, Rehm, Oliver, Baumgarten, Lutz, Müller, Martina, Gorai, Prashun, Iwazaki, Yoshiki, Fox, Glen R., Yazawa, Keisuke, Hanrahan, Brendan, Brennecka, Geoff L.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Bernstein, Nate S. P.
Drury, Daniel
Lee, Cheng-Wei
Shimada, Tatau
Sakai, Yuki
Rehm, Oliver
Baumgarten, Lutz
Müller, Martina
Gorai, Prashun
Iwazaki, Yoshiki
Fox, Glen R.
Yazawa, Keisuke
Hanrahan, Brendan
Brennecka, Geoff L.
author_facet Bernstein, Nate S. P.
Drury, Daniel
Lee, Cheng-Wei
Shimada, Tatau
Sakai, Yuki
Rehm, Oliver
Baumgarten, Lutz
Müller, Martina
Gorai, Prashun
Iwazaki, Yoshiki
Fox, Glen R.
Yazawa, Keisuke
Hanrahan, Brendan
Brennecka, Geoff L.
contents Thin films of aluminum hafnium nitride (Al$_{1-x}$Hf$_{x}$N) were synthesized via reactive magnetron sputtering for Hf contents up to $x$ = 0.13. X-ray diffraction showed a single $c$-axis oriented wurtzite phase for all films. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated homogeneous Al:Hf distribution through the thin films and confirmed their insulating character. A collection of complementary tests showed unambiguous polarization inversion, and thus ferroelectricity in multiple samples. Current density vs. electric field hysteresis measurements showed distinct ferroelectric switching current peaks, the piezoelectric coefficient d$_{33,f,meas}$ measured using a double beam laser interferometer (DBLI) showed a reversal in sign with similar magnitude, and anisotropic wet etching confirmed field-induced polarization inversion. This demonstrates the possibility of using tetravalent--and not just trivalent--alloying elements to enable ferroelectricity in AlN-based thin films, highlighting the compositional flexibility of ferroelectricity in wurtzites and greatly expanding the chemistries that can be considered for future devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_08816
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ferroelectricity of Wurtzite Al$_{1-x}$Hf$_{x}$N Heterovalent Alloys
Bernstein, Nate S. P.
Drury, Daniel
Lee, Cheng-Wei
Shimada, Tatau
Sakai, Yuki
Rehm, Oliver
Baumgarten, Lutz
Müller, Martina
Gorai, Prashun
Iwazaki, Yoshiki
Fox, Glen R.
Yazawa, Keisuke
Hanrahan, Brendan
Brennecka, Geoff L.
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Thin films of aluminum hafnium nitride (Al$_{1-x}$Hf$_{x}$N) were synthesized via reactive magnetron sputtering for Hf contents up to $x$ = 0.13. X-ray diffraction showed a single $c$-axis oriented wurtzite phase for all films. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated homogeneous Al:Hf distribution through the thin films and confirmed their insulating character. A collection of complementary tests showed unambiguous polarization inversion, and thus ferroelectricity in multiple samples. Current density vs. electric field hysteresis measurements showed distinct ferroelectric switching current peaks, the piezoelectric coefficient d$_{33,f,meas}$ measured using a double beam laser interferometer (DBLI) showed a reversal in sign with similar magnitude, and anisotropic wet etching confirmed field-induced polarization inversion. This demonstrates the possibility of using tetravalent--and not just trivalent--alloying elements to enable ferroelectricity in AlN-based thin films, highlighting the compositional flexibility of ferroelectricity in wurtzites and greatly expanding the chemistries that can be considered for future devices.
title Ferroelectricity of Wurtzite Al$_{1-x}$Hf$_{x}$N Heterovalent Alloys
topic Materials Science
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.08816