High-k HfxZr1-xO₂ Ferroelectric Insulator by Utilizing High Pressure Anneal

In this article, we report the fabrication of Zr-rich high-k ferroelectric hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) capacitor with TiN as the top and bottom electrodes demonstrating an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 5.7 Å and remanent polarization (Pr) of ~16 μC/cm
²
. High-k-value and low EOT was achieved by utilizing multiphase region of HZO as well as high pressure post metallization annealing (HPPMA). Despite the high-k value of Zr-rich HZO films, the emergence of multiphase region at higher physical-thickness when annealed using rapid thermal annealing (RTA) limits its EOT value. On the contrary, multiphase emerges at a smaller physical thickness in HPPMA due to the formation of more o-phase as revealed by grazing incidence X-ray diffractometer (GIXRD). The smaller physical thickness of HPPMA together with the demonstration of significantly higher dielectric constant (>50) by HZO in the vicinity of multiphase, was therefore, found to be very effective in reducing the EOT.