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

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 HfxZr1−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 (EBD). 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.