Related papers: Easy collective polarization switching in ferroele…
A long standing problem of domain switching process - how domains nucleate - is examined in ultrathin ferroelectric films. We demonstrate that the large depolarization fields in ultrathin films could significantly lower the nucleation…
Electric-polarization reversibility in nano-ferroelectric structures renders them as a convenient platform for exploring phase transitions and developing energy-efficient switching devices. However, the fundamental question of how ferroic…
Classical nucleation theory is used to estimate the free-energy barrier to nucleation of the solid phase of particles interacting via a potential which has a short-ranged attraction. Due to the high interfacial tension between the fluid and…
In ferroelectricity, atomic-scale dipole moments interact collectively to produce strong electro-mechanical coupling and switchable macroscopic polarization. Hence, the functionality of ferroelectrics emerges at a solid-solid phase…
The basic physics of nucleation in solid \hl{single-crystal} nanoparticles is revealed by a phase-field theory that includes surface energy, chemical reactions and coherency strain. In contrast to binary fluids, which form arbitrary contact…
Ferroelectric domain nucleation and growth in multiferroic BiFeO3 films is observed directly by applying a local electric field with a conductive tip inside a scanning transmission electron microscope. The nucleation and growth of a…
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…
Pressure-induced polarization switching in ferroelectric thin films has emerged as a powerful method for domain patterning, allowing to create predefined domain patterns on free surfaces and under thin conductive top electrodes. However,…
Ferroelectric polarization switching is one common example of a process that occurs via nucleation and growth, and understanding switching kinetics is crucial for applications such as ferroelectric memory. Here we describe and interpret…
Against expectations, robust switchable ferroelectricity has been recently observed in ultrathin (1 nm) ferroelectric films exposed to air [V. Garcia $et$ $al.$, Nature {\bf 460}, 81 (2009)]. Based on first-principles calculations, we show…
Nanoscale ferroelectrics that can be integrated into microelectronic fabrication processes are highly desirable for low-power computing and non-volatile memory devices. However, scalable novel ferroelectric materials, such as hafnium oxide…
Motivated by the observed thickness-scaling of the coercive field in ferroelectric films over five decades, we develop a statistical approach towards understanding the conceptual underpinnings of this behavior. Here the scaling exponent is…
The mechanisms of thermally activated magnetization switching in small ferromagnetic particles driven by an external magnetic field are investigated. For low uniaxial anisotropy the spins rotate coherently while for sufficiently large…
Ferroelectric crystals must adopt one of the 10 polar point groups according to the Neumann's principle. In this paper we propose that this conclusion is based on perfect bulk crystals without taking the boundaries into account, and we show…
We analyze a system of polar molecules in a one-dimensional optical lattice. By controlling the internal structure of the polar molecules with static electric and microwave fields, we demonstrate the appearance of a quantum phase transition…
The switching of electric polarization induced by electric fields -a fundamental functionality of ferroelectrics- is closely associated with the motions of the domain walls that separate regions with distinct polarization directions.…
The role of the surface during polarization switching in constrained ferroelectrics is investigated using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. The model incorporates the elastic and electrostrictive effects in the form of a long-range…
We consider ferroelectric phase transitions in both short-circuited and biased ferroelectric-semiconductor films with a space (depletion) charge which leads to some unusual behavior. It is shown that in the presence of the charge the…
When subjected to electro-mechanical loading, ferroelectrics see their polarization evolve through the nucleation and evolution of domains. Existing mesoscale phase-field models for ferroelectrics are typically based on a gradient-descent…
Ferroelectricity, a hallmark of spontaneous inversion-symmetry breaking, has been a central concept in condensed matter physics and functional materials research, yet recent discoveries are revealing that switchable polarization can emerge…