Performance Enhancement and Transient Current Response of Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction: A Theoretical Study

A comprehensive physical model is established to understand the device operation and optimization strategy of the ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ). This model is capable of simulating write (switching polarity), read [tunnel electroresistance (TER)], and ac transient operations with a good agreement with experiments. The strategy of optimizing the thickness of the ferroelectric layer and nonpolar interfacial layer is discussed for enlarging TER ratio. We also discussed the possible misinterpretation of the measured TER ratio according to our model.