Design and Development of Nitride Ferroelectric Memory Devices

Abstract

To address the inherent “memory wall” bottleneck of the von Neumann computing architecture and meet the growing demand for high-energy-efficiency non-volatile storage, ferroelectric memory technology is regaining widespread attention from both academia and industry. However, traditional perovskite-based ferroelectric materials, such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), face inherent limitations in CMOS process compatibility and environmental regulations, making seamless integration with advanced logic processes challenging. In recent years, perovskite-structured nitride ferroelectric materials, exemplified by aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN), have emerged as a leading alternative solution. Their lead-free nature, excellent thermal stability, and potential compatibility with back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes offer critical opportunities for developing next-generation memory, neuromorphic computing, and electronics for extreme environments. This paper aims to systematically review the research background and core advantages of nitride ferroelectric materials relative to traditional materials. It discusses key challenges in material preparation and device integration, elucidates the correlation mechanisms between microstructure and macroscopic properties, and introduces representative device architectures and application prospects based on this material system. Finally, it presents outlooks on material engineering, interfaces and reliability, device architecture innovation, and heterogeneous integration with emerging semiconductors.