Atomic Layer Deposition of Ferroelectric HfxZr(1-x)O2 from Metal-β-diketonate Precursors with Fine Cation Tunability.
- 1Department of Chemistry, Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- 2University of Oslo
- 3Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Dyke Parade, Cork, Ireland, T12 R5CP
Abstract
HfxZr1-xO2 (HZO) is a promising ferroelectric material for next-generation neuromorphic devices, where precise compositional control and complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) compatible processing are critical. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is particularly attractive for HZO integration due to its excellent conformality for future three-dimensional device architectures and possibility to control the composition. However, many widely used Hf and Zr precursors suffer from limited volatility and thermal stability. In this work, we exploit the robustness and favourable growth rates of the β-diketonate precursors Hf(thd)4 and Zr(thd)4 (thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5heptanedionate) - with ozone co-reactant – to demonstrate the ALD growth of binary HfO2, ZrO2, and ferroelectric HZO thin films with finely controlled Hf/Zr cation ratios enabling the Hf/Zr composition required for ferroelectric thin films. Optimized binary ALD processes yield low growth-per-cycle (GPC) values of 0.085 Å/cycle for HfO2 and 0.12 Å/cycle for ZrO2, these low GPCs enable fine and reproducible control of the Hf:Zr
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BibTeX
@misc{moolayil2026atomic,
title = {{Atomic Layer Deposition of Ferroelectric HfxZr(1-x)O2 from Metal-β-diketonate Precursors with Fine Cation Tunability.}},
author = {Sajmohan Mohandas Moolayil and Ji Liu and Melania Rogowska and Ola Nilsen and Michael Nolan and Henrik Hovde Sønsteby and Nolan Michael},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15007719/v2},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15007719/v2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Atomic Layer Deposition of Ferroelectric HfxZr(1-x)O2 from Metal-β-diketonate Precursors with Fine Cation Tunability.
AU - Sajmohan Mohandas Moolayil
AU - Ji Liu
AU - Melania Rogowska
AU - Ola Nilsen
AU - Michael Nolan
AU - Henrik Hovde Sønsteby
AU - Nolan Michael
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15007719/v2
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15007719/v2
AB - HfxZr1-xO2 (HZO) is a promising ferroelectric material for next-generation neuromorphic devices, where precise compositional control and complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) compatible processing are critical. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is particularly attractive for HZO integration due to its excellent conformality for future three-dimensional device architectures and possibility to control the composition. However, many widely used Hf and Zr precursors suffer from limited volatility and thermal stability. In this work, we exploit the robustness and favourable growth rates of the β-diketonate precursors Hf(thd)4 and Zr(thd)4 (thd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5heptanedionate) - with ozone co-reactant – to demonstrate the ALD growth of binary HfO2, ZrO2, and ferroelectric HZO thin films with finely controlled Hf/Zr cation ratios enabling the Hf/Zr composition required for ferroelectric thin films. Optimized binary ALD processes yield low growth-per-cycle (GPC) values of 0.085 Å/cycle for HfO2 and 0.12 Å/cycle for ZrO2, these low GPCs enable fine and reproducible control of the Hf:Zr
ER -