Issue 23, 2018

On the stabilization of ferroelectric negative capacitance in nanoscale devices

Abstract

Recently, the proposal to use voltage amplification from ferroelectric negative capacitance (NC) to reduce the power dissipation in nanoelectronic devices has attracted significant attention. Homogeneous Landau theory predicts, that by connecting a ferroelectric in series with a dielectric capacitor, a hysteresis-free NC state can be stabilized in the ferroelectric below a critical film thickness. However, there is a strong discrepancy between experimental results and the current theory. Here, we present a comprehensive revision of the theory of NC stabilization with respect to scaling of material and device dimensions based on multi-domain Ginzburg–Landau theory. It is shown that the use of a metal layer in between the ferroelectric and the dielectric will inherently destabilize NC due to domain formation. However, even without this metal layer, domain formation can reduce the critical ferroelectric thickness considerably, limiting not only the range of NC stabilization, but also the maximum amplification attainable. To overcome these obstacles, the downscaling of lateral device dimensions is proposed as a way to prevent domain formation and to enhance the voltage amplification due to NC. These insights will be crucial for future NC device design and scaling towards nanoscale dimensions.

Graphical abstract: On the stabilization of ferroelectric negative capacitance in nanoscale devices

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 Eph 2018
Accepted
26 Mey 2018
First published
28 Mey 2018

Nanoscale, 2018,10, 10891-10899

On the stabilization of ferroelectric negative capacitance in nanoscale devices

M. Hoffmann, M. Pešić, S. Slesazeck, U. Schroeder and T. Mikolajick, Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 10891 DOI: 10.1039/C8NR02752H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements