Related papers: Electrostatics and domains in ferroelectric superl…
Engraving trenches on the surfaces of ultrathin ferroelectric (FE) films and superlattices promises control over the orientation and direction of FE domain walls (DWs). Through exploiting the phenomenon of DW-surface trench (ST) parallel…
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…
We report second-principles simulations on the structural and energetic properties of domains in (PbTiO$_{3}$)$_{n}$/(SrTiO$_{3}$)$_{n}$ superlattices. For the explored layer thickness ($n$ ranging between 8 and 16 unit cells) and lateral…
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…
Basing on Ginzburg-Landau approach we generalize the Kittel theory and derive the interpolation formula for the temperature evolution of a multi-domain polarization profile P(x,z). We resolve the long-standing problem of the near-surface…
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…
Domain wall morphologies in ferroelectrics are believed to be largely shaped by electrostatic forces. Here, we show that for conducting domain walls, the morphology also depends on the details of the charge-carrier band structure. For…
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…
Ferroelastic domain walls (DWs) underpin key functionalities in complex oxides. In free-standing ferroic thin films, where elastic interactions are highly thickness dependent, understanding DW behaviour across length scales and external…
It is well known that stacking domains form in moir\'e superlattices due to the competition between the interlayer van der Waals forces and intralayer elastic forces, which can be recognized as polar domains due to the local spontaneous…
We investigate the ferroelectric phase transition and domain formation in a periodic superlattice consisting of alternate ferroelectric (FE) and paraelectric (PE) layers of nanometric thickness. We find that the polarization domains formed…
The surface charge associated with the spontaneous polarization in ferroelectrics is well known to cause a depolarizing field that can be particularly detrimental in the thin-film geometry desirable for microelectronic devices. Incomplete…
The wealth of complex polar topologies recently found in nanoscale ferroelectrics result from a delicate balance between the materials intrinsic tendency to develop a homogeneous polarization and the electric and mechanic boundary…
We investigated domain kinetics by measuring the polarization switching behaviors of polycrystalline Pb(Zr,Ti)O$_{3}$ films, which are widely used in ferroelectric memory devices. Their switching behaviors at various electric fields and…
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…
A thermodynamic theory of ferroelectric thin film multilayers is developed. The free energy function is written down using a multilayer model in which c-domain layers of one ferroelectric material alternate with a-domain layers of a second…
The persistence of ferroelectricity in ultrathin HfO$_2$ films challenges conventional theories, particularly given the paradoxical observation that the out-of-plane lattice spacing increases as the film thickness decreases, a reverse size…
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…
The stability of a high-symmetry $P4mm$ polar phase in seventeen short-period ferroelectric perovskite superlattices with polar discontinuity is studied from first principles within the density-functional theory. It is shown that in most…
The static configuration of ferroelectric domain walls was investigated using atomic force microscopy on epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 thin films. Measurements of domain wall roughness reveal a power law growth of the correlation function of…