Enhancing ferroelectric stability: Wide-range of adaptive control in epitaxial HfO2/ZrO2 superlattices

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Li, Jingxuan, Deng, Shiqing, Ma, Liyang, Si, Yangyang, Zhou, Chao, Wang, Kefan, Huang, Sizhe, Yang, Jiyuan, Tang, Yunlong, Ku, Yu-Chieh, Kuo, Chang-Yang, Li, Yijie, Das, Sujit, Liu, Shi, Chen, Zuhuang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912458923311104
author Li, Jingxuan
Deng, Shiqing
Ma, Liyang
Si, Yangyang
Zhou, Chao
Wang, Kefan
Huang, Sizhe
Yang, Jiyuan
Tang, Yunlong
Ku, Yu-Chieh
Kuo, Chang-Yang
Li, Yijie
Das, Sujit
Liu, Shi
Chen, Zuhuang
author_facet Li, Jingxuan
Deng, Shiqing
Ma, Liyang
Si, Yangyang
Zhou, Chao
Wang, Kefan
Huang, Sizhe
Yang, Jiyuan
Tang, Yunlong
Ku, Yu-Chieh
Kuo, Chang-Yang
Li, Yijie
Das, Sujit
Liu, Shi
Chen, Zuhuang
contents The metastability of the polar phase in HfO2, despite its excellent compatibility with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process, remains a key obstacle for its industrial applications. Traditional stabilization approaches, such as doping, often induce crystal defects and impose constraints on the thickness of ferroelectric HfO2 thin films. These limitations render the ferroelectric properties vulnerable to degradation, particularly due to phase transitions under operational conditions. Here, we demonstrate robust ferroelectricity in high-quality epitaxial (HfO2)n/(ZrO2)n superlattices, which exhibit significantly enhanced ferroelectric stability across an extended thickness range. Optimized-period superlattices maintain stable ferroelectricity from up to 100 nm, excellent fatigue resistance exceeding 109 switching cycles, and a low coercive field of ~0.85 MV/cm. First-principles calculations reveal that the kinetic energy barrier of phase transition and interfacial formation energy are crucial factors in suppressing the formation of non-polar phases. This work establishes a versatile platform for exploring high-performance fluorite-structured superlattices and advances the integration of HfO2-based ferroelectrics into a broader range of applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_00393
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Enhancing ferroelectric stability: Wide-range of adaptive control in epitaxial HfO2/ZrO2 superlattices
Li, Jingxuan
Deng, Shiqing
Ma, Liyang
Si, Yangyang
Zhou, Chao
Wang, Kefan
Huang, Sizhe
Yang, Jiyuan
Tang, Yunlong
Ku, Yu-Chieh
Kuo, Chang-Yang
Li, Yijie
Das, Sujit
Liu, Shi
Chen, Zuhuang
Materials Science
The metastability of the polar phase in HfO2, despite its excellent compatibility with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process, remains a key obstacle for its industrial applications. Traditional stabilization approaches, such as doping, often induce crystal defects and impose constraints on the thickness of ferroelectric HfO2 thin films. These limitations render the ferroelectric properties vulnerable to degradation, particularly due to phase transitions under operational conditions. Here, we demonstrate robust ferroelectricity in high-quality epitaxial (HfO2)n/(ZrO2)n superlattices, which exhibit significantly enhanced ferroelectric stability across an extended thickness range. Optimized-period superlattices maintain stable ferroelectricity from up to 100 nm, excellent fatigue resistance exceeding 109 switching cycles, and a low coercive field of ~0.85 MV/cm. First-principles calculations reveal that the kinetic energy barrier of phase transition and interfacial formation energy are crucial factors in suppressing the formation of non-polar phases. This work establishes a versatile platform for exploring high-performance fluorite-structured superlattices and advances the integration of HfO2-based ferroelectrics into a broader range of applications.
title Enhancing ferroelectric stability: Wide-range of adaptive control in epitaxial HfO2/ZrO2 superlattices
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.00393