MSE Seminar: Dr. Wendy L. Sarney, Army Research Laboratory

Wednesday, April 3, 2024
3:30 p.m.
Room 2110 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Sherri Tatum
301 405 5240
statum12@umd.edu

Ferroelectric Hafnia Materials Development for Neuromorphic Applications

Abstract: We explore monolithic processing and the integration of hafnia-based ferroelectrics into neuromorphic devices. The demonstration of complementary metal organic semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible ferroelectric hafnia (HfO2) in 2011 prompted a surge of research into integrating ferroelectric-based devices with advanced semiconductor technology nodes. Current research explores and designs devices for new computing and embedded memory applications. Neuromorphic computing is a brain-inspired computing paradigm to emulate neurological activities with novel in-memory computing devices. Computers excel at analytical math and the processing of information through model development. This power-hungry computation mode does not meet the demands of edge applications for networks deprived of energy and communications. Alternatively, cognitive computing operates similarly to the human brain. Trainable networks process patterns of information and are sensitive to the details of input patterns. Edge computing allows local data processing, eliminating the need for centralized processing in contested and limited network paradigms. This reduces the latency of the network and improves resiliency, power efficiency, and speed for time-sensitive tasks.

In our lab, we study the underlying physics of switching in ferroelectric hafnia-based materials and optimize their properties for these types of applications. I will emphasize the underlying materials characterization of the phase landscape in hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) ferroelectrics. We use rapid thermal annealing processes to achieve monolithic integration of HZO into two-dimensional field effect transistors (FeFETs). Direct imaging and spectroscopy reveal the mixed phase, multi-domain nature of HZO with small grain sizes between 10 and 20 nm. Small grains are potentially helpful for scaling analog properties into advanced CMOS nodes. Thermal processing at CMOS-compatible temperatures increases crystallinity and further aligns the phases. Ordered ferroelectric orthorhombic phases are present in the material with CMOS-compatible thermal processing temperatures.

Bio: Dr. Wendy L. Sarney is a physical scientist at the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command, Army Research Laboratory (ARL). She is part of the Alternative Sensing &  Computing Embedded Neuromorphic Devices (ASCEND) team. Her principal project is in  neuromorphic materials development. Prior to her current project, she worked with III-V  materials growth and characterization, principally for infrared detector applications. This work  largely investigated compositionally graded buffers that allowed the growth of bulk InAsSb for  long wavelength infrared detection. She also has worked in unconventional highly mismatched  alloys for solar water splitting and to extend the wavelengths available for III-V materials. Since her time at the University of Maryland, she has been involved with wide bandgap III-nitride  alloys. She was the Chair of the Materials Specialty Group for the Military Sensing Symposium  (2015-2018). Her work is documented in over 170 scientific publications. She is a proud  graduate of the University of Maryland’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering, where  she earned her Doctor of Philosophy. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from the  State University of New York, Binghamton. Among other awards, she has received the ARLScience Award twice, along with the RDECOM Achievement Award, and the Sensors & Electron  Devices Directorate Award for Science.

Audience: Graduate  Undergraduate  Faculty 

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