Lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate for use in non-volatile memories

Non-volatile memory devices are so named because they retain information when power is interrupted; thus they are important computer components. In this context, there has been considerable recent interest(1,2) in developing non-volatile memories that use ferroelectric thin films-'ferroelectric random access memories: or FRAMs-in which information is stored in the polarization state of the ferroelectric material. To realize a practical FRAM, the thin films should satisfy the following criteria: compatibility with existing dynamic random access memory technologies, large remnant polarization (P-r) and reliable polarization-cycling characteristics. Early work focused on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) but, when films of this material were grown on metal electrodes, they generally suffered from a reduction of P-r ('fatigue') with polarity switching. Strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT) and related oxides have been proposed to overcome the fatigue problem(3), but such materials have other shortcomings, such as a high deposition temperature. Here we show that lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate thin films provide a promising alternative for FRAM applications. The films are fatigue-free on metal electrodes, they can be deposited at temperatures of similar to 650 degrees C and their values of P-r are larger than those of the SBT films.