Nanowerk October 16, 2023
Analog switching in ferroelectric devices promises neuromorphic computing with the highest energy efficiency if limited device scalability can be overcome. Researchers in Germany demonstrated the ferroelectric switching characteristics of sub-5 nm thin Al0.74Sc0.26N films grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and epitaxial Pt/GaN/sapphire templates by sputter-deposition. They focused on the following major achievements compared to previously available wurtzite-type ferroelectrics: 1) Record low switching voltages down to 1 V are achieved, which was in a range that could be supplied by standard on-chip voltage sources. 2) Compared to the previously investigated deposition of ultrathin Al1−xScxN films on epitaxial templates, a significantly larger coercive field (Ec) to breakdown field ratio was observed for Al0.74Sc0.26N films grown on silicon substrates. 3) The formation of true ferroelectric domains in wurtzite-type materials was demonstrated. According to the researchers this should enable the analog switching necessary for mimicking neuromorphic concepts also in highly scaled devices… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
The microscope shows what happens when aluminum scandium nitride is switched… Credit: Advanced Science, 29 June 2023