Research Article www.acsami.org A Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Process-Compatible Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction Fabian Ambriz-Vargas,*,† Gitanjali Kolhatkar,† Maxime Broyer,† Azza Hadj-Youssef,† Rafik Nouar,‡ Andranik Sarkissian,‡ Reji Thomas,† Carlos Gomez-Yáñez,§ Marc A. Gauthier,† and Andreas Ruediger*,† Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, INRS, Varennes, Québec J3X1S2, Canada Plasmionique Inc., 9092 Rimouski, Brossard, Québec J4X2S3, Canada § Departamento de Ingeniería en Metalurgia y Materiales, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Zacatenco 07738, México † Downloaded via UNIV OF WISCONSIN-MADISON on January 27, 2025 at 04:25:10 (UTC). See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles. ‡ S Supporting Information * ABSTRACT: In recent years, experimental demonstration of ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJ) based on perovskite tunnel barriers has been reported. However, integrating these perovskite materials into conventional silicon memory technology remains challenging due to their lack of compatibility with the complementary metal oxide semiconductor process (CMOS). This communication reports the fabrication of an FTJ based on a CMOS-compatible tunnel barrier Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (6 unit cells thick) on an equally CMOS-compatible TiN electrode. Analysis of the FTJ by grazing angle incidence X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic phase (Pbc21, ferroelectric phase). The FTJ characterization is followed by the reconstruction of the electrostatic potential profile in the as-grown TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructure. A direct tunneling current model across a trapezoidal barrier was used to correlate the electronic and electrical properties of our FTJ devices. The good agreement between the experimental and theoretical model attests to the tunneling electroresistance effect (TER) in our FTJ device. A TER ratio of ∼15 was calculated for the present FTJ device at low read voltage (+0.2 V). This study suggests that Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 is a promising candidate for integration into conventional Si memory technology. KEYWORDS: ferroelectric tunnel junctions, CMOS process, nanoscale characterization, tunneling electroresistance effect, electronic band alignment endurance (106 cycles), nonvolatility, and a simple structure.2 The theoretical concept of an FTJ was proposed by Esaki in 1971.4 A conventional FTJ is composed of an ultrathin ferroelectric layer (∼2.8 nm thick) sandwiched between two metallic electrodes. By an electric field, the step barrier height at both interfaces (electrode-ferroelectric) can be modulated due to the polarization reversal of the tunnel barrier. This in turn gives rise to two different electrical resistance states (tunneling electroresistance effect (TER)) that can be codified as binary information (“ON” and “OFF” states).5 Despite the advantages of FTJs, this concept lost attention for more than 30 years due to the difficulty in producing ferroelectric films with a thickness compatible with coherent quantum mechanic tunneling.2 In fact, for a long time, it was believed that the critical thickness for ferroelectricity was in the 10−100 nm range. However, recent strain engineering studies have shown that the ferroelectricity of a given film can be markedly enhanced by the strain caused by lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate.6 In 2009, Garcia et al. reported the fabrication of an 1. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, ferroelectric random access memories (Fe-RAM) are commercially available products. This type of memory combines the fast read/write access (∼10 ns) of dynamic RAM (DRAM) with the nonvolatility (the ability to retain information when the power supply is off) of FLASH memory.1 Fe-RAM is composed of a ferroelectric capacitor in which a ferroelectric thick film (∼100 nm thick) is sandwiched between two electrodes. This film’s remnant polarization is then switched by an electric field between the top and bottom electrodes, resulting in two stable polarization states that are interpreted as “1’ and ‘0” in binary code.2 However, Fe-RAM faces some challenges such as destructive read-out, which destroys the stored information during the reading process and makes it necessary to restore the data after the reading operation. A second drawback is the scaling limit; Fe-RAM is based on charge sensing, and the lateral size of the capacitor cannot be reduced to nanometer scale.3 Among the different notable types of semiconductor memories, ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) devices are excellent candidates for overcoming the current Fe-RAM limitations, as they combine good scalability with low operating energy, high operation speed (write time = 10 ns), high © 2017 American Chemical Society Received: December 16, 2016 Accepted: April 3, 2017 Published: April 3, 2017 13262 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16173 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 13262−13268 Research Article ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Figure 1. (a) AFM topography image (1×1 μm2) of a Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film on a TiN substrate, (b) XRR spectra measured on Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films, and (c) grazing incidence angle XRD spectrum of a Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film deposited on a TiN bottom electrode. electrode was deposited at 400 °C in a N2 and Ar atmosphere (pN = N2/(Ar + N2) = 70%) using a sputtering pressure of 10 mTorr. The subsequent growth of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 was performed at 425 °C. During this step, the sputtering medium consisted of a mixture of Ar and O2 (pO = O2/(Ar + O2) = 50%) and the RF power on the one inch in diameter polycrystalline Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 target was fixed to 20 W. In both cases, the sputtering chamber was pumped prior to deposition to a base pressure of ∼10−5 Torr using a dry pumping station. To eliminate contaminations and to maintain the target composition homogeneous, the target surface was cleaned for 15 min by presputtering prior to all the depositions (see Supporting Information, section 1). Microstructural and Structural Characterization. The surface morphology of each film was analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM, Smart SPM1000-AIST-NT Inc.), and the layer thickness of the ferroelectric films was determined by X-ray reflectivity (XRR, Philips X’Pert Materials Research Diffractometer) and the software Gen X. For films thicker than 5 nm, the structural properties were studied by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) in grazing incidence mode using Cu Kα radiation. Electronic Characterization. The bandgap of a 20 nm thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 layer grown on Si quartz (0001) was calculated with the Tauc plot method using the transmission spectra obtained from a PerkinElmer UV/vis spectrometer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, VG Escalab 220i XL) was employed to determine the band alignment of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film with the TiN and Pt substrates, which records the shallow core level, valence band spectra, and Fermi energies. All high-resolution spectra were collected in constant pass energy (20 eV) mode. The binding energy scale was calibrated using a pure gold standard sample and setting Au 4f7/2 at a binding energy of 84 eV (see Supporting Information, section 2). Nanoscale Characterization. The ferroelectric switching of the films was studied by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) using conductive Pt−Ir-coated Si cantilever tips (radius ≈ 30 nm). Nanoscale electrical measurements were performed in conductive AFM (C-AFM) mode. For the electrical characterization, a 30 nm thick polycrystalline Pt top electrode was deposited using DC sputtering through a shadow mask consisting of an array of 300 μm diameter holes (see Supporting Information, section 3). Local current−voltage (I−V) characteristics were measured by placing the FTJ device based on a highly strained BaTiO3 ultrathin film (3 nm thick), where a giant tunneling electroresistance effect was demonstrated.7 Since then, a large TER effect has been reported in FTJ devices based on perovskite materials such as BaTiO3,8 PbTiO3,9 and BiFeO3.10 However, integrating FTJs with ferroelectric ultrathin films having a perovskite structure into conventional Si-based memory technology remains challenging for many reasons, such as poor interfacing with silicon (Si), an elevated crystallization temperature, and an electrical degradation caused by a forming gas treatment.11 Hafnium zirconium oxide (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2) is a very promising material for FTJ devices and could present a solution for overcoming the actual limitations of the semiconductor memories. Just a few years ago, in 2011, its ferroelectric behavior in the ultrathin film form (layer thickness below 10 nm) was first discovered.11 This was a surprise because hafnia and zirconia had been studied for more than a century without evidence of polar ordering. In contrast to traditional perovskite materials, Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 presents advantages such as a high compatibility with the CMOS process, a low crystallization temperature (∼400 °C), and excellent compatibility with TiN electrodes, a favored material for mass production.12−14 Therefore, because of the importance of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 to the semiconductor industry, this work reports the fabrication of an FTJ comprising a TiN bottom electrode, a 6 unit cell thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 tunnel barrier (∼2.8 nm thick) and a Pt top electrode. We also present an investigation of the TER effect by correlating the reconstructed electrostatic potential profile with the electrical transport properties using a direct tunneling current model as proposed by Brinkman.15 2. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION Sample Preparation. Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/TiN bilayers were grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering (SPT310, Plasmionique Inc.) on (100) p-type Si substrates (ρ = 1−10 Ω cm). The TiN bottom 13263 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16173 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 13262−13268 Research Article ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces acquired on the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film integrated in the FTJ device (Figure S4). These results confirm the ferroelectric behavior of the ultrathin Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film. Figure 2b shows a PFM phasecontrast image depicting intentionally written ferroelectric patterns. Three intersecting squares located from the bottom left to the top right were poled with voltages of −3, +3, and −3 V, demonstrating upward, downward, and upward polarizations, respectively. The remaining area corresponds to the virgin state, which exhibits a preferential downward polarization. This spontaneous polarization was caused by the presence of substrate-induced strain in the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film,18 and the intersecting squares show the capability of the material to go through a full cycle of ferroelectric polarization switching. The presented ferroelectric patterns are stable for over 60 h, which suggests a stable and robust ferroelectric polarization of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 layer (Figure S5). This PFM analysis is in agreement with the XRD results, confirming the formation of the noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic ferroelectric phase. Optical constants such as the bandgap (Eg) can be estimated from UV−visible transmission spectroscopy measurements, whereas the carrier transport properties at the ferroelectric/ metal interface can be well understood by determining the valence band offset as well as the potential step barrier.19,20 Thus, accurate knowledge of these optical and electronic parameters is essential for identifying a suitable ferroelectric layer for FTJ.21 conductive tip in contact with the platinum top electrode while the TiN bottom electrode was grounded and performing a “DC” voltage sweep. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The surface morphology of the as-grown Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 sample is shown in Figure 1a. It depicts a grainy layer uniformly covering the TiN substrate surface. The layer is thin enough that some atomic steps/terraces are still visible. The small grains characteristic of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 are also visible, and a root-meansquare (rms) roughness of ∼0.25 nm is obtained over a 1×1 μm2 area, attesting the atomic flatness of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/TiN heterostructure’s surface. As the TER effect is highly dependent on the barrier width,5 it is crucial to determine the layer thickness of our films. Using XRR measurements (Figure 1b), the layer thickness was estimated to be ∼2.8 nm (6 unit cells of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2) for the films used in the fabrication of the FTJ and ∼5.2 nm for those used in the structural analysis. For insight to be gained into the structural properties of the ultrathin Hf0·5Zr0.5O2 film on the TiN substrate, a phase identification was performed using grazing incidence angle XRD (Figure 1c). The diffraction peaks from the (111), (200), and (220) planes belong to the noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic phase, which has ferroelectric properties. The ferroelectric phase is obtained during the initial stages of film growth. It starts with the nucleation of small grains with a high surface and volume ratio, which results in the formation of a tetragonal phase (P42/nmc). However, the large tensile strain along the c-axis induced by the coalescence of the nucleating grains allows the formation of the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase (Pbc21).16 The XRD presented in Figure 1c confirms the film composition, as a change in the Hf/Zr ratio would result in the appearance of other peaks in 2θ.17 The first requirement to realize a ferroelectric tunnel junction device is for the nanometer-thick film to present ferroelectric properties.5 For this reason, the ferroelectric properties of the 6 unit cell thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film were investigated at room temperature on the bare surface of the ultrathin film as well as on the FTJ devices. Starting with the PFM response on the bare surface of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film, Figure 2a reveals a clear hysteretic behavior in both phase, as shown by the ∼180° difference, and the amplitude signals, acquired out of the resonance frequency of the cantilever, as a function of voltage. The ferroelectric switching voltages that create the downward and upward polarization were found to be +1.9 and −1.9 V, respectively. Similar local phase and amplitude signals were Figure 3. Tauc plot of a Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film. Eg is determined from transmission measurements. The corresponding Tauc plot is illustrated in Figure 3. The absorption coefficient (∝) was calculated using the relation19 ∝= 1 ⎛⎜ 100 ⎞⎟ ln d ⎝ %T ⎠ (1) where d is the layer thickness and T is the transmission. Eg is estimated by extrapolating the linear portion of the absorption curve to the x-axis, where the absorption coefficient becomes zero, and a value of 5.06 eV was obtained for a Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film with a thickness of 20 nm. To gain quantitative information on the electronic properties at both interfaces of the FTJ system (TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 and Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt), we used the Kraut procedure.22,23 This method consists of measuring the valence band offset (VBO) by finding the core level signals provided by the film and the substrate, the Fermi energy level (EF) of the metallic bulk material, as well as the valence band maximum (VBM) of the ferroelectric layer. Starting with the first interface (TiN/ Hf0.5Zr0.5O2), VBO was calculated using the equation Figure 2. (a) Local PFM hysteresis loops of the phase (blue curve) and the amplitude signal (green-red curve) and (b) 3 × 3 μm2 PFM phase contrast image. 13264 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16173 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 13262−13268 Research Article ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Figure 4. XPS spectra taken on the (a) thick TiN film, (b) thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 layer, (c) TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 interface, (d) bulk Pt film, and (e) Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt interface. VBO = (BE Ti2p − E F)TiN − (BE Hf4f − VBM)HZO − (BE Ti2p − BE Hf4f )HZO/TiN (2) The energy separation between the Ti 2p centroid with respect to the leading edge of the Fermi level for the bulk TiN sample was found to be 455.4 ± 0.05 eV. The energy difference between the Hf 4f centroid and the VBM for the bulk Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 was estimated to be 14.1 ± 0.05 eV. The binding energy difference between Ti 2p and Hf 4f core levels in the ultrathin film was calculated to be 438.1 ± 0.05 eV. Substituting these values in eq 2, we determined the VBO to be 3.2 ± 0.05 eV at the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 interface. This analysis and the obtained values are schematically described in Figure 4. The same procedure was employed to measure the VBO at the second interface (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt, Figure 4). For the reference bulk metallic Pt sample, we obtain an energy difference equal to 70.5 ± 0.05 eV, and the core level line separation on the Pt/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 ultrathin sample was found to be 53.7 ± 0.05 eV. From these values, we found the second VBO to be equal to 2.70 ± 0.05 eV (see Supporting Information, section 5). The conduction band offset (or potential step barrier,φ) is given by φ = Eg − VBO Figure 5. Schematic representation of the electronic band diagram for the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructure. (3) electrical resistance between the two states suggest a TER effect.8,18,24 To confirm that the resistive switching observed in Figure 6a is due to the TER effect rather than another resistive switching mechanism, we used a method proposed by Zenkevich et al.24 It correlates the interfacial electronic properties with the electrical transport properties of the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructure by employing a direct tunneling current model across a trapezoidal barrier.15 This model consists of calculating the tunneling current density (J) as a function of voltage (V) using the potential barrier steps at both ferroelectric−electrode interfaces (φ1 and φ2), layer thickness (d), electron charge (e), and effective electron mass (m) as described by the Brinkman model8,15 Therefore, the potential step barriers at the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (φ1) and Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt (φ2) interfaces were calculated to be 1.86 ± 0.07 and 2.36 ± 0.07 eV, respectively. The reconstructed electronic band diagram for the TiN/ Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructure with spontaneous downward polarization is shown in Figure 5. The TER effect in our system was investigated using nanoscale electrical measurements. A representative I−V curve measured on the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt devices is presented in Figure 6a. It depicts an hysteretic I−V behavior characterized by an initial high resistance state (“OFF” state, green line), which switches to a low resistance state (“ON” state, blue line). The hysteretic electrical behavior as well as the large change in 13265 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16173 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 13262−13268 Research Article ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Figure 6. (a) Typical I−V characteristics measured on a 300 μm diameter TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructure displaying low- and high-resistance states and (b) electrostatic potential barrier as a function of the polarization direction. Figure 7. Memory performances of the FTJ devices: (a) Fatigue measurements on a TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt (diameter of 300 μm) heterostructure displaying the “OFF” (green) and “ON” (blue) resistance values over 1000 write/read cycles. (b) “ON” and “OFF” resistances state (upper panel) and ON/OFF ratios (bottom panel) of 30 different FTJ memory cells. (c) Retention properties, where the “ON” resistance state was measured as a function of time at a read voltage of 0.4 V. obtained by XPS (φ1 = 1.86 eV and φ2 = 2.36 eV), and adding only the scaling factor, which was assumed to be the same for both states following the method described in the literature.8,24 Then, using the same scaling factor and eq 4, the I−V curve for the “OFF” state was fitted to obtain the potential barriers for that state. As shown in Figure 6a, a good agreement was obtained during the fitting of the I−V curve with the theoretical model described in eq 4 for both the “OFF” and “ON” states. From this model, we obtained two potential barriers (φ1 = 2.75 eV and φ2 = 2.20 eV) that produce the “OFF” state in the I−V curve (upward polarization). Hence, the polarization reversal changes at the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 and Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt interfaces ⎛ ⎧ ⎞ ⎡ eV 3/2 eV 3/2 ⎤⎫ ⎬⎟ − φ1 + 2 ⎜ exp⎨α(V )⎢ φ2 − 2 ⎥ ⎣ ⎦ ⎛ 4em ⎞ ⎩ ⎭⎟ J = − ⎜ 2 3 ⎟⎜ 2 ⎟ ⎝ 9π ℏ ⎠⎜ 1/2 1/2 ⎡ ⎤ eV eV ⎜ α 2(V )⎢ φ2 − 2 − φ1 + 2 ⎥⎦ ⎟⎠ ⎣ ⎝ ( ( ) ) ( ( ) ) ⎧ ⎡⎛ ⎪ 3 ⎪ eV ⎟⎞1/2 ⎜⎛ eV ⎟⎞1/2 ⎤ eV ⎫ ⎥ ⎬ × sinh⎨ − φ1 + α(V )⎢⎜φ2 − ⎪ ⎝ 2 ⎠ 2 ⎠ ⎦2 ⎪ ⎣⎝ ⎩2 ⎭ (4) where ∝(ν) = [4d(2m)1/2/[3ℏ(φ1 + eV − φ2)] and ℏ is the reduced Planck constant (see Supporting Information, section 6). The theoretical I−V curve for the “ON” state (downward polarization) was plotted using the potential barrier values 13266 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16173 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 13262−13268 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces ■ are Δφ1 = 0.89 eV and Δφ1 = 0.16 eV, respectively. The derived changes in the potential barrier profile are shown in Figure 6b. Indeed, the electrostatic potential profile was modulated by the polarization reversal of the ultrathin layer. When the polarization vector of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 points to the TiN bottom electrode, the conduction band will bend downward due to the buildup of negative screening charges in the TiN electrode. This will be followed by the lowering of the potential barrier height at the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/TiN interface, resulting in a low-resistance state (Figure 6b, downward state). On the other hand, when the polarization vector of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 points to the Pt top electrode, positive screening charges will build up at the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/TiN interface, bending the conduction band upward and resulting in a high-resistance state (Figure 6b, upward state).The TER effect in our FTJ was quantified by the TER ratio (J> − J</J<), resulting in a TER ratio of ∼15 at +0.2 V. The I−V curve illustrated in Figure S11 showed a change from the “ON” to “OFF” state at a read voltage of +2.2 V, and the change from the “OFF” to “ON” state takes place at a read voltage of −1.7 V. The endurance of the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructures was evaluated by recording 1000 I−V cycles under quasi-static conditions on the same FTJ memory cell. Given that contact by the AFM was required, the acquisition speed was limited by the AFM specifications and a 1000 cycle quasi-static measurement already took a day. For each I−V curve, we obtained the “ON” and “OFF” resistances at a read voltage of +0.2 V (Figure 7a). They remain stable over 1000 cycles, indicating good endurance of the FTJs.25 The reproducibility of the TER effect in the FTJs under study was investigated by recording I−V cycles from 30 different FTJ devices. For each memory cell, the resistance values for both the “ON” and “OFF” states were recorded at 0.2 V. The 30 memories cells presented an ON/OFF ratio, or TER ratio, of 15 ± 3 on average (Figure 7b). This result attests to the high reproducibility of the TER effect in the TiN/ Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt FTJ memory devices.25 The retention properties of the present FTJ were evaluated on a single memory cell by recording the “ON” resistance state value over time at a read voltage of +0.4 V (following the method described by Abuwasib et al.26). As shown in Figure 7c, the “ON” resistance state can still be read after 8 h, demonstrating that our FTJ devices present a long time retention. Research Article ASSOCIATED CONTENT S Supporting Information * The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16173. Synthesis of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 and TiN films, complete XPS binding energy calibration, structural properties of the platinum top electrode, complete ferroelectric studies, complete band alignment analysis, and additional information related to the Brinkman model (PDF) ■ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Authors *E-mail: fabian.ambriz.vargas@emt.inrs.ca. *E-mail: ruediger@emt.inrs.ca. ORCID Fabian Ambriz-Vargas: 0000-0002-9069-9710 Notes The authors declare no competing financial interest. ■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS F.A.-V. is thankful for an individual FRQNT MELS PBEEE 1M scholarship and financial support from CONACYT-Mexico. G.K. acknowledges a postdoctoral FRQNT research scholarship. A.R. and M.A.G. acknowledge generous support through NSERC discovery grants. The collaboration with C.G.-Y. was generously sponsored through an MRIFE grant. ■ REFERENCES (1) Jeong, D. S.; Thomas, R.; Katiyar, R. S.; Scott, J. F.; Kohlstedt, H.; Petraru, A.; Hwang, C. S. 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S.; Bräuhaus, D.; Schröder, U.; Böttger, U.; Sundqvist, J.; Kücher, P.; Mikolajick, T.; Frey, L. Ferroelectric 4. CONCLUSIONS In summary, we reported the successful fabrication of an FTJ device based on a CMOS-compatible tunnel barrier (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2) and a TiN bottom electrode. The formation of the metastable ferroelectric orthorhombic phase was confirmed by correlating the results of grazing angle incidence XRD with those acquired by PFM. By combining XPS and UV−visible spectroscopies, the potential step barriers were determined to be 1.86 and 2.32 eV at the bottom and top interfaces of the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructure, respectively. Using the Brinkman model, we confirmed the presence of a large electroresistance effect with a TER ratio equal to ∼15 (at +0.2 V). 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