Etch Damage Evaluation in Integrated Ferroelectric Capacitor Side Wall by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

The etch damage in integrated ferroelectric capacitors side wall fabricated by the typical integrated process (TIP-FeCAP) and the innovated integrated process (IIP-FeCAP) are investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). The IIP-FeCAP side wall exhibits fine and clear nanoscale domain images and the same piezoresponse signal as the thin film, and the domains can also be easily switched by an external voltage. In the TIP-FeCAP side wall, owing to the effect of etch damage, the very weak piezoresponse signal and some discrete domains can be observed, and the discrete domains cannot be switched by the applied 9 V and −9 V dc voltage. The PFM results reflect the etch damage in the integrated ferroelectric capacitors and also suggest that the PFM can be used as an efficacious tools to evaluate the etch damage at nanoscale and spatial variations. (cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)