Read Current in Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions: Transient versus DC Contributions and Trap Related Effects

Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions (FTJs) performance as memristive devices is typically represented by their Tunneling Electro-Resistance Ratio (TER), defined as the ratio between the DC current measured in the low resistance state (LRS) and in the high-resistance state (HRS) of the device. However, during characterization of the FTJ read current and hence of TER, the transient contributions to the current are often overlooked in the literature, possibly causing misleading interpretations of the experimental TER. Here we propose a new, comprehensive characterization of the readout currents of different FTJ stacks, also investigating on their transient components. We report a solid interpretation of the experiments based on the response of traps in the ferroelectric, also supported by physics-based simulations.