MIPT Ferroelectric condensers

2019: Break in creation of non-volatile storage cells

On November 27, 2019 the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) announced TAdviser that group of researchers of laboratory of functional materials and devices for a nanoelectronics of MIPT and the colleague, working in Germany and the USA, made break on the way to creation of unknown types of non-volatile storage cells. Scientists managed to create a technique of measurement of distribution of electric potential in the so-called ferroelectric condenser — bases of memory cells of the future which will work much quicker than the USB sticks existing for November, 2019 or solid-state disks and to maintain a million times more cycles of rewriting.

Team of the scientists making an experiment near installation of high-energy x photoelectronic ray spectroscopy on the synchrotron PETRA III, Hamburg. From left to right: Andrey Gloskovsky, Yury Matveev, Dmitry Negrov, Vitaly Mikheyev and Andrey Zenkevich. It is provided by Andrey Zenkevich

In electronic industry of the whole world there is a race "the new USB stick" — the non-volatile memory based on the modern principles and providing multiple superiority in access rate and quantity of possible cycles of rewriting over the existing USB stick and a solid-state disk (SSD). The most perspective basis of "the new USB stick" oxide of hafnium (HfO2), long ago known in electronic industry is considered. This amorphous dielectric under certain conditions (alloying, temperature processing, etc.) can form the stable crystals having ferroelectric properties — capability "remember" the attached electric field.

The developed storage cell represents the thinnest — less than 10 nanometers — a layer of oxide of hafnium which from two parties electrodes adjoin. Construction is similar to the normal electric condenser. But in order that ferroelectric condensers could be used as storage cells, it is necessary to achieve the greatest possible polarization, and for — it to study in detail physical processes which happen in a nanolayer at the time of the phenomenon. One of the most important parts of this knowledge — idea of how electric potential in a layer when giving tension on electrodes is distributed. In ten years which passed from the moment of opening of ferroelectric phase HfO2 none of researchers managed to study this distribution of potential directly: used only different mathematical models. And authors of the published work — managed.

For this purpose they applied a method of so-called high-energy x photoelectronic ray spectroscopy. The special technique developed by the staff of MIPT required use of x-ray emission which can be received only on special accelerators synchrotrons. Such is in Hamburg (Germany). There also measurements on prototypes of future cells of "new memory" — the ferroelectric condensers on the basis of oxide of hafnium manufactured in MIPT were taken.

The ferroelectric condensers created in our laboratory if to use them to industrial production of cells of a non-volatile memory, are capable to provide 1010 cycles of rewriting — in hundred thousand times more, than allow modern computer USB sticks, claims Andrey Zenkevich, one of authors of work, the head of the laboratory of functional materials and devices for a nanoelectronics of MIPT

One more important advantage of devices of memory on a ferroelectric material — their complete, unlike semiconductor drives, nonsensitivity to radiative effects. "The new USB stick" will be able to work even in space: to it not scary space radiation.

Work was supported by the Russian scientific fund.