Dipole spring ferroelectrics in superlattice SrTiO3/BaTiO3 thin films exhibiting constricted hysteresis loops

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Applied Physics Letters, 100(9):Article No. 092905

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3691172· OSTI ID:1072910

Wu, Pingping; Ma, Xingqiao; Li, Yulan; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Chen, L Q

Ferroelectric superlattice heterostructures have recently been explored for potential applications in electronic devices. In this letter we employed the phase-field approach to simulate the domain structure and switching of a (BaTiO3)8/(SrTiO3)3 superlattice film constrained by a GdScO3 substrate. A constricted ferroelectric hysteresis loop was observed with a high saturation polarization but a small coercive field. The shape of the hysteresis loop is understood by analyzing the ferroelectric polarization distributions during switching. It is demonstrated that the multilayers stack behave as dipole spring ferroelectric, named in analogy to exchange spring magnets in magnetic multilayers that show similar loops.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1072910
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-89992
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, 100(9):Article No. 092905, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters, 100(9):Article No. 092905
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Constricted hysteresis loop
Ferroelectric superlattice
Phase-field simulation