Positive-to-negative subthreshold swing of a MOSFET tuned by the ferroelectric switching dynamics of BiFeO3

Ferroelectricity can reduce the subthreshold swing (SS) of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) to below the room-temperature Boltzmann limit of ~60 mV/dec and provides an important strategy to achieve a steeper SS. Surprisingly, by carefully tuning the polarization switching dynamics of BiFeO3 ferroelectric capacitors the SS of a commercial power MOSFET can even be tuned to zero or a negative value, i.e., the drain current increases with a constant or decreasing gate voltage. In particular, in addition to the positive SS of lower than 60 mV/dec, the zero and negative SS can be established with a drain current spanning for over seven orders of magnitude. These intriguing phenomena are explained by the ferroelectric polarization switching dynamics, which change the charge redistributions and accordingly affect the voltage drops across the ferroelectric capacitor and MOSFET. This study provides deep insights into understanding the steep SS in ferroelectric MOSFETs, which could be promising for designing advanced MOSFETs with an ultralow and tunable SS.

Tunability Investigation in the BaTiO3-CaTiO3-BaZrO3 Phase Diagram Using a Refined Combinatorial Thin Film Approach

Tunable ferroelectric capacitors, which exhibit a decrease in the dielectric permittivity under an electric field, are widely used in electronics for RF tunable applications. Current devices use barium strontium titanate (BST) as the tunable dielectric, but new applications call for tunable materials with specific performance improvements. It is then of crucial importance to dispose of a large panel of electrically characterized materials to identify the most suited compound for a given set of device specifications. Here, we report on the dielectric tuning properties of Ba1−xCaxTi1−yZryO3 (BCTZ) thin films libraries (0 ≤ x ≤ 30% and 0 ≤ y ≤ 28.5%) synthesized by combinatorial pulsed laser deposition (CPLD). An original CPLD approach allowing reliable and statistical ternary phase diagrams exploration is reported. The effects of Ca and Zr content on tunability, breakdown voltage and dielectric losses are explicated and shown to be beneficial up to a certain amount. Compounds close to (Ba0.84Ca0.16)(Ti0.8Zr0.2)O3 exhibit the highest figures of merit, while a zone with compositions around (Ba0.91Ca0.09)(Ti0.81Zr0.19)O3 show the best compromise between tuning ratio and figure of merit. These results highlight the potential of BCTZ thin films for electrically tunable applications.

Perovskite Ferroelectric

The spectrums of properties exhibited by ferroelectric materials are dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric effect. This is the makes these materials to have a wide range of useful application. Infrared detectors are used pyroelectric effect of ferroelectric materials. It is used in nonvolatile memories due to have ferroelectric hysteresis. Its piezoelectric properties make them useful for actuator, radio frequency filter, sensor, and transducer. Ferroelectric capacitors are used, their good dielectric behavior. According to the necessity of the system they are available in different form such as single crystals, ceramics, thin film, and polymer, composite. The diversity of properties ferroelectric materials always attracted the attention of engineers and researchers. Size reduction of this material from micro to nanoscale established an enormous consideration to develop nanotechnology. Its vast use of different filed imposed the in detail research in adding to the development of processing and characterization method. This chapter will put some light on some fundamental principle of ferroelectricity, the list of perovskite materials and their application.