Retention mechanism study of the ferroelectric field effect transistor

Single-transistor ferroelectric field effect transistor offers attractive features for future memory applications, such as scalable cell structure, high speed, and low power consumption. However, its relatively short retention time has prevented its application as a non-volatile memory. In order to investigate its retention mechanism, we have developed an automatic retention measurement technique, which enables direct flatband voltage tracking shortly after programming. Two mechanisms, based on the effects of the depolarization field and the gate leakage followed by trapping, respectively, have been identified responsible for the memory window loss in different time regimes, according to the data obtained from this technique. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3609323]