Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions based on Ferroelectric-Dielectric Hf0.5Zr0.5.O2/ A12O3Capacitor Stacks

We report on a two-layer based ferroelectric tunnel junction with hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) as the ferroelectric layer and aluminum oxide as the tunneling layer. The experimental results focus on optimizing the thicknesses of the layer stack. The device operation relies on the polarization reversal of the HZO layer, while electron tunneling occurs through the dielectric layer. The ferroelectric response of the HZO shows high remanent polarization values and good endurance with only weak wake-up and fatigue behavior. Adding the additional dielectric tunneling layer, the device becomes operational as a ferroelectric tunnel junction in the nanoampere current range. It shows good on/off ratios and promising retention behavior, paving the way for future applications as a polarization-based resistive memory device.