Impact of Radiation Effect on Ferroelectric Al-Doped HfO2 Metal-Ferroelectric- Insulator-Semiconductor Structure

The γ-ray total dose radiation effects on ferroelectric Al-doped HfO
₂
(HfAlO) thin films with an n-type Si substrate were studied. The I-V, P-V, C-V and fatigue characteristics of the HfAlO-based Metal-Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor (MFIS) structure were analyzed with the increasing total dose from 0 to 1 Mrad (Si). The remnant polarization (Pr) values, the capacitance (C) values and the switching voltage (Vc) of this MFIS gate structure decreased with the increasing total dose. A TCAD model of Metal/HfAlO/SiO
₂
/Si (MFIS) was proposed to explain the degradation mechanism of ferroelectric properties of the MFIS structure. We find that the new interface defects caused by radiation can reduce the electric field strength with the increasing total dose, which can significantly influence the irradiation properties of the HfAlO/SiO
₂
/n-Si gate structure. These results provide the basis to applications for the HfO
₂
-based devices in radiation working environment.