Application of an ultrafast photonic technique to study polarization switching dynamics of thin-film ferroelectric capacitors

Author

Li, J. ; Liang, H. ; Nagaraj, B. ; Cao, W. ; Lee, Chi H. ; Ramesh, R.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

Volume

21

Issue

12

fYear

2003

Firstpage

3282

Lastpage

3291

Abstract

We demonstrate the use of jitter-free ultrafast rise-time electrical pulses generated by a semiconductor photoconductive switch with femtosecond laser illumination to study the fast polarization switching process in fully integrated, ferroelectric PNZT thin-film capacitors. The necessary conditions for high-speed polarization switching detection are presented. The switching behavior for various sizes of capacitors and various rise-times of applied voltage pulses are investigated. Circuit influence on the activation field, α, as well as application of the Inshibashi-Merz model, are discussed.

Keywords

dielectric polarisation; ferroelectric capacitors; ferroelectric switching; high-speed optical techniques; lead compounds; measurement by laser beam; photoconducting switches; thin film capacitors; titanium compounds; zirconium compounds; Inshibashi-Merz model; PbNbZrO₃TiO₃; activation field; fast polarization switching process; femtosecond laser illumination; ferroelectric PNZT thin-film capacitors; high-speed polarization switching detection; integrated PNZT thin film capacitors; jitter-free ultrafast rise-time electrical pulses; polarization switching dynamics; semiconductor photoconductive switch; thin film ferroelectric capacitors; ultrafast photonic technique; Capacitors; Ferroelectric materials; Lighting; Optical pulse generation; Photoconducting devices; Polarization; Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductor thin films; Switches; Transistors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JLT.2003.819781

Filename

1263747