Anti-Ferroelectric ZrO2 Capacitors With Ultralow Operating Voltage (<1.2 V) and Improved Endurance Toward Logic Compatible eDRAM

We have developed and experimentally demonstrated anti-ferroelectric (AFE) ZrO2 capacitors with operating voltage (
${V}_{\text {op}}$
) lower than 1.2 V while maintaining sufficient memory window (MW) (
$2{P}_{\text {r}}= \sim {20}~\mu $
C/cm
$^{{2}}$
), high endurance (projected to
$10^{{14}}$
cycles), and long data retention (
$\gt 10^{{4}}$
s at 85 °C). Such superior characteristics are enabled by ultra-scaled (6 nm) AFE ZrO2 with precisely controlled internal bias (
${V}_{\text {int}}$
) and high remnant polarization (
${P}_{\text {r}}$
) through process engineering including work function (WF) modulation of top electrode (TE), O3 treatment of bottom electrode (BE), and AlOx capping. The AFE capacitors demonstrated in this work enable the developing 1T1C AFeRAM with low-power and high-density toward logic-compatible eDRAM.