@article{Liu2026, 
author = {Xin Liu and Junfeng Zheng and Kunhao Chen and Dandan Qu and Jiyang Wu and Ruiqiang Tao and Zhen Fan and Jiyan Dai and Junming Liu and Xubing Lu},
title = {Enhanced polarization and reliability of hafnia-based ferroelectrics with 0.1 nm AlOx insertion layer},
year = {2026},
journal = {Journal of Materiomics},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
keywords = {HfO2-Based ferroelectric, AlOx insertion layer, Grain size, Oxygen vacancy, Reliability},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1016/j.jmat.2025.101104},
doi = {10.1016/j.jmat.2025.101104},
abstract = {HfO2-based ferroelectrics have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation memory applications due to their superior scalability and CMOS compatibility. However, the inherent trade-off between polarization characteristics and switching reliability remains a critical challenge. This study presents a systematic investigation of doping and intercalation effects on the continuous modulation of grain size and oxygen vacancies in AlOx-inserted Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) films. Our findings reveal that only 0.1 nm AlOx insertion layer in HZO can significantly reduce the leakage current (by 2 orders of magnitude) and improve the Pr/Ec value (by 44.6%). Moreover, the field cycling characteristics are enhanced through the suppression of the paraelectric m-phase as well as the balancing of fatigue and wake-up induced phase transitions between antiferroelectric t-phase and ferroelectric o-phase. This work offers valuable insights into the fabrication of high-performance and highly reliable HfO2-based ferroelectric thin films.}
}