The (doped-)hafnia-based' ferroelectric FET (FeFET) is a promising candidate for low-power nonvolatile memories and shows potential use as a steep-slope low-power logic device. This requires accurate modeling of the metal-ferroelectric-insulator-silicon (MFIS) gate stack electrostatics. Here, we present a hardware-validated FeFET compact model that resolves three key aspects in the MFIS electrostatics pertaining to a multidomain ferroelectric (FE) layer: 1) the nonradiative multiphonon process-based charge trapping; 2) the source-to-drain channel percolation due to spatial nonuniformity of FE domain switching; and 3) the nucleation-growth domain reversal dynamics using a phenomenological formalism. The polarization charge is calculated by discretized domain switching in transient under distributed coercive fields. Based on the comparison of the model versus experimental data on Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 n-FeFET hardware, we prove that the onset of FE VTH lowering starts with the source-to-drain percolation path formation when enough FE domains have been flipped up by the gate bias. We further demonstrate that the field-independent domain growth is the fundamental origin of the measured steep subthreshold slope during the downward ID-VG sweep. The model ultimately aims to lay down the groundwork for a unified FeFET compact model for both memory- and logic-oriented applications.
Xiang, Y, Bardon, MG, Kaczer, B, Alam, MNK, Ragnarsson, L-A, Kaczmarek, K, Parvais, B, Groeseneken, G & Houdt, JV 2021, 'Compact Modeling of Multidomain Ferroelectric FETs: Charge Trapping, Channel Percolation, and Nucleation-Growth Domain Dynamics', IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 68, no. 4, 9336322, pp. 2107-2115. https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2021.3049761
Xiang, Y., Bardon, M. G., Kaczer, B., Alam, M. N. K., Ragnarsson, L.-A., Kaczmarek, K., Parvais, B., Groeseneken, G., & Houdt, J. V. (2021). Compact Modeling of Multidomain Ferroelectric FETs: Charge Trapping, Channel Percolation, and Nucleation-Growth Domain Dynamics. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 68(4), 2107-2115. Article 9336322. https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2021.3049761
@article{97a65d821b764ef08e22f6ad845bcb49,
title = "Compact Modeling of Multidomain Ferroelectric FETs: Charge Trapping, Channel Percolation, and Nucleation-Growth Domain Dynamics",
abstract = "The (doped-)hafnia-based' ferroelectric FET (FeFET) is a promising candidate for low-power nonvolatile memories and shows potential use as a steep-slope low-power logic device. This requires accurate modeling of the metal-ferroelectric-insulator-silicon (MFIS) gate stack electrostatics. Here, we present a hardware-validated FeFET compact model that resolves three key aspects in the MFIS electrostatics pertaining to a multidomain ferroelectric (FE) layer: 1) the nonradiative multiphonon process-based charge trapping; 2) the source-to-drain channel percolation due to spatial nonuniformity of FE domain switching; and 3) the nucleation-growth domain reversal dynamics using a phenomenological formalism. The polarization charge is calculated by discretized domain switching in transient under distributed coercive fields. Based on the comparison of the model versus experimental data on Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 n-FeFET hardware, we prove that the onset of FE VTH lowering starts with the source-to-drain percolation path formation when enough FE domains have been flipped up by the gate bias. We further demonstrate that the field-independent domain growth is the fundamental origin of the measured steep subthreshold slope during the downward ID-VG sweep. The model ultimately aims to lay down the groundwork for a unified FeFET compact model for both memory- and logic-oriented applications.",
author = "Y. Xiang and Bardon, {M. Garcia} and B. Kaczer and Alam, {Md Nur K.} and L.-A. Ragnarsson and K. Kaczmarek and B. Parvais and G. Groeseneken and Houdt, {J. Van}",
year = "2021",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1109/TED.2021.3049761",
language = "English",
volume = "68",
pages = "2107--2115",
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices",
issn = "0018-9383",
publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",
number = "4",
}