Endurance properties of ferroelectric PZT thin films

Abstract
The fatigue behavior of sol-gel derived PZT (lead zirconate titanate) thin films was studied to determine the endurance of nonvolatile ferroelectric memories. The observed capacitance characteristics following polarization cycling are consistent with a domain pinning model. Cycling at low fields improves the endurance significantly. In addition, poling at fields above the cycling field increases the initial remanent polarization and restores the polarization lost from cycling. Both poling and low-field operation may be promising means of improving ferroelectric-memory endurance.