In-situ thermal annealing of electrode to form seed layer for improving feram performance

A method for forming an integrated circuit (IC), comprising:

• forming an electrode over a substrate;
• forming a seed layer over the electrode, wherein forming the seed layer comprises:
• activating an oxygen source within a process chamber;
• and
• performing a heating process on the electrode within the process chamber, wherein the heating process causes the electrode to react with the oxygen source to form the seed layer;
• forming a ferroelectric layer over the seed layer within the process chamber, wherein the ferroelectric layer is formed to have a predominately orthorhombic crystalline phase;
• forming a semiconductor layer over the ferroelectric layer;
• and
• forming a pair of source/drain contacts laterally separated and respectively on opposite sides of the semiconductor layer.

An integrated circuit (IC), comprising:

• a substrate;
• an electrode disposed over the substrate;
• a ferroelectric layer vertically stacked with the electrode;
• and
• a seed layer comprising oxygen vertically stacked between the electrode and the ferroelectric layer,
• wherein the ferroelectric layer has a substantially uniform orthorhombic crystalline phase.