Unraveling the origins of electromechanical response in mixed-phase Bismuth Ferrite

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.88.020402· OSTI ID:1088143

Vasudevan, Rama K ^[1]; Okatan, M. B. ^[2]; Liu, Y. Y. ^[3]; Jesse, Stephen ^[1]; Yang, J. -C. ^[4]; Liang, W. -I. ^[5]; Chu, Ying-Hao ^[5]; Li, J. Y. ^[3]; Kalinin, Sergei V ^[1]; Valanoor, Nagarajan V ^[1]

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1. ORNL
2. University of New South Wales
3. University of Washington, Seattle
4. University of California, Berkeley
5. National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

The origin of giant electromechanical response in a mixed-phase rhombohedral-tetragonal BiFeO3 thin film is probed using sub-coercive scanning probe microscopy based multiple-harmonic measurements. Significant contributions to the strain arise from a second-order harmonic response localized at the phase boundaries. Strain and dissipation data, backed by thermodynamic calculations suggest that the source of the enhanced electromechanical response is the motion of phase boundaries. These findings elucidate the key role of labile phase boundaries, both natural and artificial, in achieving thin films with giant electromechanical properties.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1088143
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Vol. 88, Issue 2; ISSN 1098--0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Bismuth Ferrite
Scanning Probe Microscopy
Phase Boundary
Nonlinear Dynamics