Revealing wake-up mechanism in antiferroelectric Hf x Zr 1− x O 2 capacitors through spatially selective wake-up

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Abstract Antiferroelectric (AFE) devices are promising for nonvolatile memory applications due to their high endurance and low operating voltage, while their double hysteresis loops and high breakdown fields enable static energy-storage applications. However, their reliability evolution under electric-field cycling and the underlying physical mechanism remain insufficiently understood. In this work, we systematically investigate the wake-up behavior of AFE HfxZr1-xO2 (HZO) capacitors and quantitatively evaluate its dependence on cycling frequency and voltage amplitude. By designing a unipolar electrical excitation, spatially selective unipolar wake-up is realized within a single device, creating coexisting woken and non-woken-up regions. Combined energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) analyses reveal that the wake-up effect is primarily governed by the field-driven directional migration and redistribution of charged oxygen vacancies near the electrode/HZO interfaces. Furthermore, we uncover the application-dependent impact of wake-up behavior. Tailored electrical excitation with enhanced wake-up effectively enlarges the memory window for nonvolatile memory operation, whereas suppressing excessive wake-up preserves the energy storage performance of AFE capacitors. These findings reveal an oxygen-vacancy-redistribution-dominated wake-up mechanism in AFE HZO capacitors and provide an application-oriented electrical regulation strategy for optimizing their performance in both memory and energy-storage technologies.

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