Comparison of memory effect between YMnO3 and SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric thin films deposited on Si substrates

For the ferroelectric gate-type capacitors, we have fabricated Pt/YMnO3(YMO)/Si and Pt/SrBi2Ta2O9(SBT)/Si structures. We have used the highly c-axis oriented hexagonal YMO thin films (epsilon(r)approximate to 19) and the polycrystalline SBT thin films (epsilon(r)approximate to 150) with a dominant (115) orientation, respectively. The memory effect resulting from the ferroelectric switching properties is investigated as a function of the dielectric constant of ferroelectric thin films with 150 nm in thickness. About 3 times wider memory window is obtained by using a relatively low dielectric constant of YMO than that using a relatively high dielectric constant of SBT. Typical memory windows of the Pt/YMO/Si and the Pt/SBT/Si capacitors are 1.24 and 0.34 V, respectively, at a gate voltage of 5 V. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)02408-6].