Related papers: Pseudo-proper ferroelectricity in thin films
We discuss ferroelectric phase transitions into single- and multidomain states in very thin films using continuous theory. It is shown that in nearly cubic ferroelectrics the domain state may survive down to atomic film thicknesses, unlike…
We report studies of ferroelectricity in ultra-thin perovskite films with realistic electrodes. The results reveal stable ferroelectric states in thin films less than 10 \AA thick with polarization normal to the surface. Under short-circuit…
We study the ferroelectric stability and surface structural properties of an oxygen-terminated hexagonal YMnO$_3$ ultra-thin film using density functional theory. Under an open circuit boundary condition, the ferroelectric state with the…
The finite screening length by real metallic electrodes, albeit very small (<1A), results in finite depolarizing field that tends to split the film into domains. In very thin ferroelectric films the domain structure reduces to sinusoidal…
Atomic-scale ferroelectrics are of great interest for high-density electronics, particularly field-effect transistors, low-power logic, and nonvolatile memories. We devised a film with a layered structure of bismuth oxide that can stabilize…
A first-principles-derived approach is developed to study the effects of uncompensated depolarizing electric fields on the properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O$_3$ ultrathin films for different mechanical boundary conditions. A rich variety of…
Within the framework of the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory influence of metallic electrodes on the properties of thin ferroelectric films is considered. The contribution of the metallic electrodes with different screening length of…
According to a continuous medium theory, in very thin ferroelectric films with real metallic electrodes (or dead layers near the electrodes) the domain structure reduces to sinusoidal distribution of ferroelectric polarization. Such a…
We present molecular dynamics simulations of a realistic model of an ultrathin film of BaTiO$_3$ sandwiched between short-circuited electrodes to determine and understand effects of film thickness, epitaxial strain and the nature of…
T.W. Noh and his group (Kim et al.: PRL, 2005) have recently published a seminal experimental study of very thin ferroelectric (FE) BaTiO3 capacitors. They found an evidence that all their samples, including the thinnest one (d=5 nm), are…
The ground-state polarization of PbTiO3 thin films is studied using a microscopic effective Hamiltonian with parameters obtained from first-principles calculations. Under short-circuit electrical boundary conditions, (001) films with…
All known proper ferroelectrics are unable to polarize normal to a surface or interface if the resulting depolarization field is unscreened, but there is no fundamental principle that enforces this behavior. In this work, we introduce…
We simulate from first-principles the energetic, structural, and electronic properties of ferroelectric domains in ultrathin capacitors made of a few unit cells of BaTiO$_3$ between two metallic SrRuO$_3$ electrodes in short circuit. The…
With the recent experimental verification that ferroelectric lattice distortions survive in the metallic phase of some materials, there is a desire to create devices that are both switchable and take advantage of the novel functionalities…
We consider phase separated states in magnetic oxides (MO) thin films. We show that these states have a non-zero electric polarization. Moreover, the polarization is intimately related to a spatial distribution of magnetization in the film.…
The existence of ferroelectricity in {$\mathrm{BiMnO}_3$} has been a long-standing question for both experimentalists and theorists. In addition to a highly distorted bulk structure, the ionic crystal planes cause a large roughness in thin…
The screening efficiency of a metal-ferroelectric interface plays a critical role in determining the polarization stability and hence the functional properties of ferroelectric thin films. Imperfect screening leads to strong depolarization…
Going down to the limit of ultrathin films holds promise for a new generation of devices such as ferroelectric tunnel junctions or resistive memories. However, these length scales also make the devices sensitive to parasitic effects related…
The electrostatics arising in ferroelectric/dielectric two-dimensional heterostructures and superlatitices is revisited here within a simplest Kittel model, in order to define a clear paradigmatic reference for domain formation. The…
Ferroelectrics display spontaneous and switchable electrical polarization. Until recently, ferroelectricity was believed to disappear at the nanoscale; now, nano-ferroelectrics are being considered in numerous applications. This renewed…