Multi-domain Characterization of Ferroelectric Switching Dynamics with a Physics-based SPICE Circuit Model for Phase Field Simulations

Abstract

In this paper, the multi-domain nature of ferroelectric (FE) polarization switching dynamics in a metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitor is explored through a physics-based phase field approach, where the three-dimensional time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equation and Poisson's equation are self-consistently solved with the SPICE simulator. Systematically calibrated based on the experimental measurements, the model well captures transient negative capacitance in pulse switching dynamics, with domain interaction and viscosity being the key parameters. It is found that the influence of pulse amplitudes on voltage transient behaviors can be attributed to the fact that the FE free energy profile strongly depends on how the domains are interacted. This finding has an important implication on the charge-boost induced by stabilization of negative capacitance in an FE + dielectric (DE) stack since the so-called capacitance matching needs to be designed at a specific operation voltage or frequency. In addition, we extract the domain viscosity dynamics during polarization switching according to the experimental measurements. For the first time, a physics-based circuit-compatible SPICE model for multi-domain phase field simulations is established to reveal the effect of domain interaction on the FE energy profile and microscopic domain evolution.

arXiv comment17 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Phase Field Modeling of Domain Dynamics and Polarization Accumulation in Ferroelectric HZO
• Ferroelectric Negative Capacitance Domain Dynamics
• A computational study of hafnia-based ferroelectric memories: from ab initio via physical modeling to circuit models of ferroelectric device
• Modeling Transient Negative Capacitance in Steep-Slope FeFETs
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