Stabilization of ferroelectric Hf _x Zr _1-x O ₂ films using a millisecond flash lamp annealing technique

We report on the stabilization of ferroelectric Hf x Zr 1-x O 2 (HZO) films crystallized using a low thermal budget millisecond flash lamp annealing technique. Utilizing a 120 s 375 °C preheat step combined with millisecond flash lamp pulses, ferroelectric characteristics can be obtained which are comparable to that achieved using a 300 s 650 °C rapid thermal anneal. X-ray diffraction, capacitance voltage, and polarization hysteresis analysis consistently point to the formation of the ferroelectric phase of HZO. A remanent polarization (P r ) of ∼21 μC/cm 2 and a coercive field (E c ) of ∼1.1 MV/cm are achieved in 10 nm thick HZO layers. Such a technique promises a new alternative solution for low thermal budget formation of ferroelectric HZO films.