Li, Y, Zatterin, E, Conroy, M et al. (14 more authors) (2022) Electrostatically Driven Polarization Flop and Strain-Induced Curvature in Free-Standing Ferroelectric Superlattices. Advanced Materials, 34 (15). ISSN 0935-9648
Abstract
The combination of strain and electrostatic engineering in epitaxial heterostructures of ferroelectric oxides offers many possibilities for inducing new phases, complex polar topologies, and enhanced electrical properties. However, the dominant effect of substrate clamping can also limit the electromechanical response and often leaves electrostatics to play a secondary role. Releasing the mechanical constraint imposed by the substrate can not only dramatically alter the balance between elastic and electrostatic forces, enabling them to compete on par with each other, but also activates new mechanical degrees of freedom, such as the macroscopic curvature of the heterostructure. In this work, an electrostatically driven transition from a predominantly out-of-plane polarized to an in-plane polarized state is observed when a PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattice with a SrRuO3 bottom electrode is released from its substrate. In turn, this polarization rotation modifies the lattice parameter mismatch between the superlattice and the thin SrRuO3 layer, causing the heterostructure to curl up into microtubes. Through a combination of synchrotron-based scanning X-ray diffraction imaging, Raman scattering, piezoresponse force microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy, the crystalline structure and domain patterns of the curved superlattices are investigated, revealing a strong anisotropy in the domain structure and a complex mechanism for strain accommodation.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) |
Keywords: | ferroelectric domains; free-standing membranes; microtubes; strain engineering |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 08 Mar 2022 15:39 |
Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2023 22:55 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/adma.202106826 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:184486 |