Stabilization of the ferroelectric phase in Hf-based oxides by oxygen scavenging

We propose an oxygen scavenging technique based on thermodynamic considerations of metal and oxygen systems to stabilize the ferroelectric phase and enhance the ferroelectricity in Hf-based oxides. By using an oxygen scavenging metal to control the oxygen vacancy concentration in Hf-based oxides, the effect of this oxygen scavenging technique in ferroelectric Hf-based oxides was systematically investigated. It was revealed that controlling the oxygen vacancies during the crystallization process is of vital importance to stabilizing the ferroelectric properties. This oxygen scavenging technique is an effective method of improving the performance of Hf-based ferroelectric materials without employing any dopant in Hf-based oxides.