Critical Thickness for Antiferroelectricity in PbZrO3

B. K. Mani, C.-M. Chang, S. Lisenkov, and I. Ponomareva
Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 097601 – Published 26 August 2015; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 019903 (2016)
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Abstract

Ferroelectrics and antiferroelectrics appear to have just the opposite behavior upon scaling down. Below a critical thickness of just a few nanometers the ferroelectric phase breaks into nanodomains that mimic electric properties of antiferroelectrics very closely. On the other hand, antiferroelectric thin films were found to transition from the antiferroelectric behavior to a ferroelectric one under certain growth conditions. At present, the origin of such a transition is controversial. Here, we use accurate first-principles-based finite-temperature simulations to predict the existence of a critical thickness for antiferroelectricity in the most celebrated antiferroelectric, PbZrO3. The origin of this effect is traced to the intrinsic surface contribution that has been previously overlooked. The existence of a critical thickness below which the antiferroelectric phase is replaced with a ferroelectric one not only complements the discovery of a critical thickness for ferroelectricity, but also suggests that ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity are just two opposite manifestations of the same phenomenon: the material’s tendency to develop a long-range order. Nanoscaling offers the opportunity to manipulate this order.

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  • Received 1 May 2015
  • Corrected 21 December 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.097601

© 2015 American Physical Society

Corrections

21 December 2015

Erratum

Publisher’s Note: Critical Thickness for Antiferroelectricity in PbZrO3 [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 097601 (2015)]

B. K. Mani, C.-M. Chang, S. Lisenkov, and I. Ponomareva
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 019903 (2016)

Authors & Affiliations

B. K. Mani1, C.-M. Chang1,2, S. Lisenkov1, and I. Ponomareva1

  • 1Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, USA
  • 2Institute for Cyber-Enabled Research, Michigan State University, Biomedical & Physical Sciences Building, 567 Wilson Road, Room 1440, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1226, USA

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Issue

Vol. 115, Iss. 9 — 28 August 2015

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