182 research outputs found
Atomic-scale compensation phenomena at polar interfaces
The interfacial screening charge that arises to compensate electric fields of
dielectric or ferroelectric thin films is now recognized as the most important
factor in determining the capacitance or polarization of ultrathin
ferroelectrics. Here we investigate using aberration-corrected electron
microscopy and density functional theory how interfaces cope with the need to
terminate ferroelectric polarization. In one case, we show evidence for ionic
screening, which has been predicted by theory but never observed. For a
ferroelectric film on an insulating substrate, we found that compensation can
be mediated by interfacial charge generated, for example, by oxygen vacancies.Comment: 3 figure
Low-Temperature Resistance Anomaly at SrTiO\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3e Grain Boundaries: Evidence for an Interface-Induced Phase Transition
Variable temperature transport between 1.4 and 300 K, structural imaging, and theoretical calculations were used to characterize the properties of electrically active 24º and 36.8º [001] tilt SrTiO3 grain boundaries with 0.1 at.% niobium doping. An anomaly in boundary resistance and capacitance characteristics typical of a positive temperature coefficient effect is observed. This behavior is indicative of interface-induced dipole ordering. The detailed atomic structures of these grain boundaries were determined from a comparison of ab initio calculations and Z-contrast TEM images. The number of excess electrons at the boundaries determined experimentally and theoretically agrees and is associated with the boundary structural units
Suppressed dependence of polarization on epitaxial strain in highly polar ferroelectrics
A combined experimental and computational investigation of coupling between
polarization and epitaxial strain in highly polar ferroelectric
PbZr_0.2Ti_0.8O_3 (PZT) thin films is reported. A comparison of the properties
of relaxed (tetragonality c/a = 1.05) and highly-strained (c/a = 1.09)
epitaxial films shows that polarization, while being amongst the highest
reported for PZT or PbTiO_3 in either film or bulk forms (P_r = 82
microC/cm^2), is almost independent of the epitaxial strain. We attribute this
behavior to a suppressed sensitivity of the A-site cations to epitaxial strain
in these Pb-based perovskites, where the ferroelectric displacements are
already large, contrary to the case of less polar perovskites, such as BaTiO_3.
In the latter case, the A-site cation (Ba) and equatorial oxygen displacements
can lead to substantial polarization increases.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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