ABSTRACT

 Nanoscale domain nucleation and domain-wall propagation govern switching in hafnia-based ferroelectrics. However, it is not known how electrode interfaces and thermal processing govern these processes at the grain scale. Here, biasdependent piezoresponse force microscopy and pulsed switching measurements reveal

how bottom electrodes and annealing control polarization reversal in 10-nm-thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 capacitors. TiN promotes rapid nucleation and cross-grain propagation,

NbN leads to gradual intragrain switching, and MoO2 strongly suppresses ferroelectric switching. The fastest reversal is obtained for TiN/HZO/TiN annealed at 600 °C,

consistent with a fine-grained microstructure and grain boundaries that support cooperative propagation. Quantitative analysis of pulse-switching kinetics using a

modified Kolmogorov−Avrami−Ishibashi framework yields comparable time constants for nucleation and growth, indicating that both processes proceed concurrently. These

results establish a grain-scale mechanistic link between interfaces, microstructure, and switching kinetics in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 capacitors.