Nanoscale Phenomena in Ferroelectric Thin Films

This book presents the recent advances in the field of nanoscale science and engineering of ferroelectric thin films. It comprises two main parts, i.e. electrical characterization in nanoscale ferroelectric capacitor, and nano domain manipulation and visualization in ferroelectric materials. Well­ known le'adingexperts both in relevant academia and industry over the world (U.S., Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Korea) were invited to contribute to each chapter. The first part under the title of electrical characterization in nanoscale ferroelectric capacitors starts with Chapter 1, "Testing and characterization of ferroelectric thin film capacitors," written by Dr. I. K. Yoo. The author provides a comprehensive review on basic concepts and terminologies of ferroelectric properties and their testing methods. This chapter also covers reliability issues in FeRAMs that are crucial for commercialization of high­ density memory products. In Chapter 2, "Size effects in ferroelectric film capacitors: role ofthe film thickness and capacitor size," Dr. I. Stolichnov discusses the size effects both in in-plane and out-of-plane dimensions of the ferroelectric thin film. The author successfully relates the electric performance and domain dynamics with proposed models of charge injection and stress induced phase transition. The author's findings present both a challenging problem and the clue to its solution of reliably predicting the switching properties for ultra-thin ferroelectric capacitors. In Chapter 3, "Ferroelectric thin films for memory applications: nanoscale characterization by scanning force microscopy," Prof. A.