Low read/write voltage and high endurance of the ferroelectric memory with Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film

: Ferroelectric memory destined for automotive and aerospace applications must meet stringent performance requirements. Here, an innovative two-step annealing approach significantly improved the crystallinity of both ferroelectric orthogonal and anti-ferroelectric tetragonal phases, reduced dislocation density, and lowered leakage current of (1+5) nm thick Hf 0.5 Zr 0.5 O 2 (HZO) thin films. Consequently, the HZO film achieved a high remnant polarization ( P r ) of 16.2 μC/cm 2 and a coercive voltage ( V c ) of 0.62 V at a low read/write voltage of 1 V. After 10 12 read/write cycles at 25 °C, the memory cell showed only an 18% reduction in 2 P r, with an extrapolated maximum endurance of 1.32×10 17 cycles using electric-field accelerated testing. Notably, the memory cells demonstrated over 10 10 read/write cycles even at 200 °C. This work paves the way for the development of ferroelectric memory chips with low power consumption, high durability, ultra-fast read/write speeds, and high-temperature operation.