Origin of the Anomalous Piezoelectric Response in Wurtzite ScxAl1xN Alloys

Ferenc Tasnádi, Björn Alling, Carina Höglund, Gunilla Wingqvist, Jens Birch, Lars Hultman, and Igor A. Abrikosov
Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 137601 – Published 2 April 2010

Abstract

The origin of the anomalous, 400% increase of the piezoelectric coefficient in ScxAl1xN alloys is revealed. Quantum mechanical calculations show that the effect is intrinsic. It comes from a strong change in the response of the internal atomic coordinates to strain and pronounced softening of C33 elastic constant. The underlying mechanism is the flattening of the energy landscape due to a competition between the parent wurtzite and the so far experimentally unknown hexagonal phases of the alloy. Our observation provides a route for the design of materials with high piezoelectric response.

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  • Received 31 October 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.137601

©2010 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Ferenc Tasnádi*, Björn Alling, Carina Höglund, Gunilla Wingqvist, Jens Birch, Lars Hultman, and Igor A. Abrikosov

  • Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden

  • *tasnadi@ifm.liu.se

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Vol. 104, Iss. 13 — 2 April 2010

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