The effects of layering in ferroelectric Si-doped HfO₂ thin films

Atomic layer deposited Si-doped HfO₂ thin films approximately 10 nm thick are deposited with various Si-dopant concentrations and distributions. The ferroelectric behavior of the HfO ₂ thin films are shown to be dependent on both the Si mol. % and the distribution of Si-dopants. Metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor capacitors are shown to exhibit a tunable remanent polarization through the adjustment of the Si-dopant distribution at a constant Si concentration. Inhomogeneous layering of Si-dopants within the thin films effectively lowers the remanent polarization. A pinched hysteresis loop is observed for higher Si-dopant concentrations and found to be dependent on the Si layering distribution.