La-doped BaTiO{sub 3} heterostructures: Compensating the polarization discontinuity

Journal Article · Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2013 · APL Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4849735· OSTI ID:22269578

Kumah, D. P.; Yacoby, Y. ^[1]; Pauli, S. A.; Willmott, P. R. ^[2]

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1. Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel)
2. Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

We demonstrate a route to manipulate the polarization and internal electric field of a complex oxide heterostructure using a layering sequence based on the LaAlO{sub 3}-SrTiO{sub 3} interface. By combining sensitive atomic-level mapping of the structure using direct x-ray phase-retrieval methods with theoretical modeling of the electrostatic charge and polarization, we have devised a novel single-domain polar heterostructure. We find that ionic rearrangement results in strain and free energy minimization, and eliminates the polarization discontinuity leading to a two-fold increase of the spontaneous polarization towards the surface of an ultra-thin single-domain BaTiO{sub 3} film.

• OSTI ID: 22269578
• Journal Information: APL Materials, Vol. 1, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2013 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2166-532X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINATES
DOPED MATERIALS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
FILMS
FREE ENERGY
LANTHANUM COMPOUNDS
MINIMIZATION
OXIDES
POLARIZATION
STRONTIUM TITANATES
SURFACES
X RADIATION