Authors: Sihyun Kim, Hyun‐Min Kim, Ki‐Ryun Kwon, Daewoong Kwon
Published: 2025-03-17
Source: Full article
AbstractA material design method is proposed using ferroelectric (FE)–antiferroelectric (AFE) mixed‐phase HfZrO2 (HZO) to achieve performance improvements in morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) field‐effect transistors (MPB‐FETs), such as steep subthreshold swing (SS) and non‐hysteretic on‐current (Ion) enhancement. Capacitance (small‐signal and quasi‐static) and transient current measurements of MPB‐FETs confirmed that near‐threshold voltage (VTH) capacitance amplification leads to Ion boosts under high‐speed and low‐power conditions. For the first time, two‐stacked nanosheet (NS) gate‐all‐around (GAA) MPB‐FETs with optimized HZO, demonstrating superior short channel effect (SCE) immunity with enhanced current drivability is fabricated. Bias temperature instability (BTI) analyses revealed over‐10‐year endurance at 0.6 V and 120 °C. The NS MPB‐FETs achieved a 24.1% Ion gain, 82.5 mV operating voltage scalability, and a 30.7% AC performance improvement at VDD = 0.6 V compared to control MOSFETs with HfO2 high‐k dielectric. Transconductance benchmarks with industrial logic technologies confirmed that the MPB with mixed HZO enables effective oxide thickness scaling without mobility degradation, making NS MPB‐FETs an ideal choice for low‐power / high‐performance CMOS technology.