PULSE MEASUREMENTS ON FERROELECTRIC CAPACITORS SIMULATING MEMORY SWITCHING

Pulse switching investigations of ferroelectric PbZr0.44Ti 0.56O3 capacitors prepared by organometallic chemical vapor deposition were done to simulate a ferroelectric memory. The released charge from the ferroelectric capacitor was measured with a reference capacitor, representing the bitline capacitances in a memory. A large reference capacitor will result in complete switching at low voltages, but gives a small detection signal. For a small reference capacitor partial switching and substantial backswitching of the ferroelectric material occurs. Here, a higher detection signal and improved endurance (≳1012 cycles) are found. Scaling the results indicates the feasibility of 0.2 μm2 capacitors operating at 3 V. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.