A review on morphotropic phase boundary in fluorite-structure hafnia towards DRAM technology

In the present hyper-scaling era, memory technology is advancing owing to the demand for high-performance computing and storage devices. As a result, continuous work on conventional semiconductor-process-compatible ferroelectric memory devices such as ferroelectric field-effect transistors, ferroelectric random-access memory, and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) cell capacitors is ongoing. To operate high-performance computing devices, high-density, high-speed, and reliable memory devices such as DRAMs are required. Consequently, considerable attention has been devoted to the enhanced high dielectric constant and reduced equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of DRAM cell capacitors. The advancement of ferroelectric hafnia has enabled the development of various devices, such as ferroelectric memories, piezoelectric sensors, and energy harvesters. Therefore, in this review, we focus the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between ferroelectric orthorhombic and tetragonal phases, where we can achieve a high dielectric constant and thereby reduce the EOT. We also present the role of the MPB in perovskite and fluorite structures as well as the history of the MPB phase. We also address the different approaches for achieving the MPB phase in a hafnia material system. Subsequently, we review the critical issues in DRAM technology using hafnia materials. Finally, we present various applications of the hafnia material system near the MPB, such as memory, sensors, and energy harvesters. Graphical Abstract