Fabrication and characterization of Pt/(Bi, La)(4)Ti3O12/Si3N4/Si metal ferroelectric insulator semiconductor structure for FET-type ferroelectric memory applications

For field effect transistor (FET)-type ferroelectric memories, c-axis orien ted (Bi,La)(4)Ti3O12 films with small remanent polarization Pr of 4 muC/cm( 2) were investigated. Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 films were prepared by the sol-gel method on amorphous Si3N4 layers formed on Si substrates using atomic nitr ogen radicals. It was found that the films formed using stoichiometric sol- gel solution did not crystallize even after annealing at 800 degreesC in O- 2 ambient. Therefore, 2.5 to 7.5% excess-Bi solutions were used and such pa rameters as pre annealing and crystallization temperatures, film thickness and crystallization ambient were optimized. As a result, the well c-axis-or iented Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 films with good crystallinity and good surface mo re -Si3N4/Si morphology were obtained at temperatures higher than 600 degre esC. It was also found in a Pt/100 nm-Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12/3 nm (metal/ferroe lectric/insulator/semiconductor) structure that C-V characteristics showed a hysteresis loop with a memory window of about 1 V and both high and low c apacitance values kept at zero bias voltage did not change for more than 3 h.