Innovative Ultralow Thermal Budget ZrHfOx Ferroelectric Films with Low-Temperature Phase Transition for Next-Generation High-Speed Multifunctional Devices

By design of the element concentration, regulating the ratio of the t phase and the energy difference between t and o phases, the ZrHfOx (ZHO) film demonstrated the highest polarization value at a maximum processing temperature of only 280 °C without an annealing process, and it can withstand over 1010 polarization cycles without breakdown. The ZHO film maintains good ferroelectric performance in extreme temperature environments (4.55 to 473 K). Even under high-temperature conditions, the ZHO film shows exceptional endurance performance (>1010 at 423 K). These parameters represent the best overall performance reported in the literature to date. The polarization switching process can be accurately described by the nucleation limited switching (NLS) model, and the polarization switching time is expected to reach the sub-ns level as the device size decreases. The ZHO film demonstrates great potential in both process simplification and performance optimization, providing new possibilities for the application of ferroelectric devices.