Related papers: High-Symmetry Polarization Domains in Low-Symmetry…
Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) a semicrystalline pieozoelectric polymer was synthesized with varying process conditions and its ferroelectric domain orientations were studied using piezoresponse force microscope (PFM). PVDF thin films…
We show that, contrary to common belief, the depolarizing electric field generated by bound charges at thin-film surfaces can have a substantial impact on the domain structure of an improper ferroelectric with topological defects. In…
We study ferroelectricity in thin films of pseudo-proper ferroelectrics such as the so-called spiral multiferroics. We find that this type of ferroelectricity stands better against depolarizing fields than conventional one. Its…
We measure the remnant polarization of ferroelectric domains in BiFeO3 films down to 3.6 nm using low energy electron and photoelectron emission microscopy. The measured polarization decays strongly below a critical thickness of 5-7 nm…
The behavior of ferroelectricity at the nanoscale is the focus of increasing research activity because of intense interest in the fundamental nature of spontaneous order in condensed-matter systems and because of the many practical…
Domain structure of a fluid ferroelectric nematic is dramatically different from the domain structure of solid ferroelectrics since it is not restricted by rectilinear crystallographic axes and planar surface facets. We demonstrate that…
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…
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…
We describe ferroelectric thin films with circular electrodes and develop a thermodynamic theory that explains previously mysterious experiments. It is found to be especially useful for restricted geometries such as microstructures for…
Ferroelectricity (Valasek, J. Phys. Rev. 1921, 17, 475) - a spontaneous formation of electric polarisation - is a solid state phenomenon, usually, associated with ionic compounds or complex materials. Here we show that, atypically for…
The direction of ferroelectric polarization is prescribed by the symmetry of the crystal structure. Therefore, rotation of the polarization direction is largely limited, despite the opportunity it offers in understanding important…
Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) is a ferroelectric polymer characterized by negative strain along the direction of the applied electric field. However, the electromechanical response mechanism of PVDF remains unclear due to the complexity…
The newly-discovered ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal exhibits a variety of unique defect phenomena. The depolarization field in the material favors spontaneous spatial variations in polarization, manifesting in diverse forms such as…
Recent observations of unusual ferroelectricity in thin films of HfO_2 and related materials have attracted broad interest to the materials and led to the emergence of a number of competing models for observed behaviors. Here we develop the…
Thin films of PbTiO3, a classical ferroelectric, have been grown under tensile strain on single-crystal substrates of DyScO3. The films, of only 5nm thickness, grow fully coherent with the substrate and show no crystallographic twin…
Epitaxial thin films of relaxor PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3 and PbSc0.5Nb0.5O3, and ferroelectric PbZr0.65Ti0.35O3, Pb0.955La0.045Zr0.65Ti0.35O3, and Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3 were prepared, and their dielectric properties were studied in a broad range of the…
The direct domain coupling of spontaneous ferroelectric polarization and net magnetic moment can result in giant magnetoelectric (ME) coupling, which is essential to achieve mutual control and practical applications of multiferroics.…
Domain walls in ferroelectrics exhibit a plethora of phases and functionalities not found in the bulk. The interplay of electrostatic, chemical, topological, and distortive inhomogeneities at the walls can be so complex, however, that this…
We report the experimental determination of the structure and response to applied electric field of the lower-temperature nematic phase of the previously reported calamitic compound 4-[(4-nitrophenoxy)carbonyl]phenyl2,4-dimethoxybenzoate…
We show that surface interactions can vectorially structure the three-dimensional polariza-tion field of a ferroelectric fluid. The contact between a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal and a surface with in-plane polarity generates a…