Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction Optimization by Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition

Ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) based on alloyed HfO
2
and ZrO
2
is emerging as a promising two-terminal device candidate for the crossbar array for high density memory and compute-in-memory. FTJ is able to operate under non-destructive read mechanism as opposed to the ferroelectric capacitor. Herein, we report an optimized fabrication process that boosts the on-state current while suppressing the off-state current leading to an improved performance in Hf
0.5
Zr
0.5
O
2
(HZO) based FTJs. The plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposited (PEALD) of HZO and the incorporation of an interlayer Al
2
O
3
are keys to improve the HZO-based FTJ in terms of the on/off ratio and cycling endurance.