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Origin of ferroelastic domains in free-standing single-crystal ferroelectric films

I. A. Luk’yanchuk, A. Schilling, J. M. Gregg, G. Catalan, and J. F. Scott
Phys. Rev. B 79, 144111 – Published 8 April 2009

Abstract

The origin of the unusual 90° ferroelectric/ferroelastic domains, consistently observed in recent studies on mesoscale and nanoscale free-standing single crystals of BaTiO3 [Schilling et al., Phys. Rev. B 74, 024115 (2006); Schilling et al., Nano Lett. 7, 3787 (2007)], has been considered. A model has been developed which postulates that the domains form as a response to elastic stress induced by a surface layer which does not undergo the paraelectric-ferroelectric cubic-tetragonal phase transition. This model was found to accurately account for the changes in domain periodicity as a function of size that had been observed experimentally. The physical origin of the surface layer might readily be associated with patterning damage, seen in experiment; however, when all evidence of physical damage is removed from the BaTiO3 surfaces by thermal annealing, the domain configuration remains practically unchanged. This suggests a more intrinsic origin, such as the increased importance of surface tension at small dimensions. The effect of surface tension is also shown to be proportional to the difference in hardness between the surface and the interior of the ferroelectric. The present model for surface-tension induced twinning should also be relevant for finely grained or core-shell structured ceramics.

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  • Received 29 January 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.79.144111

©2009 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

I. A. Luk’yanchuk

  • Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens 80039, France and L. D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Moscow, Russia

A. Schilling and J. M. Gregg

  • Centre for Nanostructured Media, School of Maths and Physics, Queen’s University of Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom

G. Catalan and J. F. Scott

  • Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 79, Iss. 14 — 1 April 2009

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