Shear-driven morphotropic phase boundary in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

Y. Y. Liu and J. Y. Li
Phys. Rev. B 84, 132104 – Published 20 October 2011

Abstract

We report new insights on morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) learnt from the nonlinear thermodynamics analysis of epitaxial ferroelectric films, including (1) MPB can be induced in an otherwise tetragonal ferroelectric system under a wide range of misfit shears; (2) the coexistence of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases at MPB does not necessarily lead to superior electromechanical coupling; and (3) the discontinuity in polarization across MPB is essential for the enhanced piezoelectricity. These insights point to alternative pathways to strain engineered MPB and superior electromechanical coupling that are not readily realized otherwise.

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  • Received 1 August 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.132104

©2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Y. Y. Liu

  • Faculty of Materials, Optoelectronics and Physics, Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Application Technology of Ministry of Education, Xiangtan University, Hunan 411105, China

J. Y. Li*

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-2600, USA

  • *Corresponding author: jjli@u.washington.edu.

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Issue

Vol. 84, Iss. 13 — 1 October 2011

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