Deep Sight of Temperature‐Dependent Wake‐Up Effect of Hf _0.5 Zr _0.5 O ₂ Capacitors and Characterization

ABSTRACT Doped HfO ₂ ferroelectrics have attracted significant attention owing to their compatibility with CMOS processes in memory applications. The evolution of phases in doped HfO ₂ films during the wake‐up process remains a subject of ongoing interest. Using precession electron diffraction (PED), this study investigates the phase evolution in Hf _0.5 Zr _0.5 O ₂ (HZO) capacitors at various wake‐up temperatures (T _wake ). An increasing concentration of the orthorhombic phase (o‐phase) is observed to correlate positively with T _wake , leading to enhanced polarization switching (PSW) with a value of 30.5 µC/cm ² at elevated T _wake . Following the operation at higher T _wake , transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals the formation of large single grains within a 40‐nm‐long region. The regrowth of o‐phase grains results in grain elongation, which reduces the number of grain boundaries (GBs). Leakage current curves of all HZO samples were analyzed and fitted to different conduction mechanisms. Ultimately, elevated T _wake improves the endurance of HZO capacitors, suggesting that fewer grain boundaries can inhibit the formation of conductive filaments and enhance device reliability.