3D ferroelectric phase field simulations of polycrystalline multi-phase hafnia and zirconia based ultra-thin films

HfO_2- and ZrO_2-based ferroelectric thin films have emerged as promising candidates for the gate oxides of next generation electronic devices. Recent work has experimentally demonstrated that a tetragonal/orthorhombic (t/o-) phase mixture with partially in-plane polarization can lead to negative capacitance (NC) stabilization. However, there is a discrepancy between experiments and the theoretical understanding of domain formation and domain wall motion in these multi-phase, polycrystalline materials. Furthermore, the effect of anisotropic domain wall coupling on NC has not been studied so far. Here we apply 3D phase field simulations of HfO_2- and ZrO_2-based mixed-phase ultra-thin films on silicon to understand the necessary and beneficial conditions for NC stabilization. We find that smaller ferroelectric grains and a larger angle of the polar axis with respect to the out-of-plane direction enhances the NC effect. Furthermore, we show that theoretically predicted negative domain wall coupling even along only one axis prevents NC stabilization. Therefore, we conclude that topological domain walls play a critical role in experimentally observed NC phenomena in HfO_2- and ZrO_2-based ferroelectrics.