Atomic layer deposition of Pb(Zr,Ti)Ox on 4H-SiC for metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor diodes

Atomic layer deposited (ALD) Pb(Zr,Ti)O-x (PZT) ultra-thin films were synthesized on an ALD Al2O3 insulation layer on 4H-SiC substrate for metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) device applications. The as-deposited PZT was amorphous but crystallized into a perovskite polycrystalline structure with a preferred [002] orientation upon rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 950 degrees C. The capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics of the MFIS devices indicate carrier injection to the film induced by polarization and Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling when electric field was high. The polarization-voltage measurements exhibited reasonable remanent and saturation polarization and a coercive electrical field comparable to that reported for bulk PZT. The piezoresponse force microscope measurements confirmed the polarization, coercive, and retention properties of ultra-thin ALD PZT films. (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3596574]