Healing effect of high-energy proton irradiation on the reliability of HfZrO based high-k dielectrics.

Authors

Chan Bin Lee, Useok Choi, Yongsu Lee, Jun-Hyeok Choi, Hyeon-Seok Shin, Uigwan Shin, Byeong Gwan Kim, Jun Yeong Hong, Jae Min Jo, Jeong Min Park, Hyeon Jun Hwang, Chang Goo Kang, Byoung Hun Lee

Published in

Nano convergence. Volume 13. Issue 1. Jul 07, 2026. Epub Jul 07, 2026.

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of high-energy proton irradiation (33 and 100 MeV) on the radiation response and statistical uniformity of the breakdown field of Hf_xZr_1-xO₂ based metal-insulator-metal capacitors. While macroscopic electrical characteristics-such as polarization hysteresis, dielectric constant, and leakage current-exhibit remarkable radiation stability across various crystalline phases, a distinct improvement is observed in the statistical distribution of the breakdown field (E_BD). Weibull distribution analysis reveals a consistent increase in the shape factor (β) following irradiation, indicating a "healing effect" that effectively narrows the variance of dielectric breakdown. This enhancement leads to a normalized yield improvement ranging from 3.0% to 14.8%. Our findings suggest that optimized high-energy proton treatment can effectively mitigate localized defects and suppress early-stage failures. These results provide a strategic pathway for enhancing the reliability and operational lifetime of high-k dielectrics in space-qualified and radiation-hardened electronics.

PMID:
42412370
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Jul 2026.

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