Low read/write voltage and high endurance of the ferroelectric memory with Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ film

Ferroelectric memory destined for automotive and aerospace applications must meet stringent performance requirements. Here, an innovative two-step annealing approach significantly improved the crystallinity of both ferroelectric orthogonal and anti-ferroelectric tetragonal phases, reduced dislocation density, and lowered leakage current of (1 + 5) nm thick Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ (HZO) thin films. Consequently, the HZO film achieved a high remnant polarization (P_r) of 16.2 μC/cm² and a coercive voltage (V_c) of 0.62 V at a low read/write voltage of 1 V. After 10¹² read/write cycles at 25 ℃, the memory cell showed only an 18% reduction in 2P_r, with an extrapolated maximum endurance of 1.32 × 10¹⁷ cycles using electric-field accelerated testing. Notably, the memory cells demonstrated over 10¹⁰ read/write cycles even at 200 ℃. This work paves the way for the development of ferroelectric memory chips with low power consumption, high durability, ultra-fast read/write speeds, and high-temperature operation.