Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Advances in complex oxide heteroepitaxy have highlighted the enormous potential of utilizing strain engineering via lattice mismatch to control ferroelectricity in thin-film heterostructures. This approach, however, lacks the ability to produce large and continuously variable strain states, thus limiting the potential for designing and tuning the desired properties of ferroelectric films. Here, we observe and explore dynamic strain-induced ferroelectricity in SrTiO 3 by laminating freestanding oxide films onto a stretchable polymer substrate. Using a combination of scanning probe microscopy, optical second harmonic generation measurements, and atomistic modeling, we demonstrate robust room-temperature ferroelectricity in SrTiO 3 with 2.0% uniaxial tensile strain, corroborated by the notable features of 180° ferroelectric domains and an extrapolated transition temperature of 400 K. Our work reveals the enormous potential of employing oxide membranes to create and enhance ferroelectricity in environmentally benign lead-free oxides, which hold great promise for applications ranging from non-volatile memories and microwave electronics.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Ruijuan Xu, Jiawei Huang, Edward S. Barnard, Seung Sae Hong, Prastuti Singh, Ed K. Wong, Thies Jansen, Varun Harbola, Jun Xiao, Bai Yang Wang, Sam Crossley, Di Lu, Shi Liu, Harold Y. Hwang
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,380
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Office of Science, Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems, Basic Energy Sciences, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering
Awards: G1229526393, G1286236842, G1286251239, G1333989588, G1414775356, G1445641779, G1523888516, MURI-18 HYBRID-MATERIALS VALLEY OPTOELECTRONICS FOR PHOTON SPIN COMMUNICATION ** FAADC MIGRATION NOTE - ACTION TYPE:"1" TO "A", RECORD TYPE:"2", BUSINESS FUNDS INDICATOR:"NON", INDIVIDUAL RECIPIENT INDICATOR:"NO", RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDS INDICATOR:"YES", COMPETED OPPORTUNITY:"1" TO "C", NUMBER OF PROPOSALS OR APPLICATIONS:"1", AWARDING SUB-TIER AGENCY CODE "5700" DERIVED FROM AWARDING OFFICE CODE "FA9550", FUNDING SUB-TIER AGENCY CODE "5700" DERIVED FROM FUNDING OFFICE CODE "F4FGA0", PPOP COUNTRY CODE:"USA", SMALL BUSINESS INDICATOR:"O", SAM EXCEPTION:"X" **, G1816284028, G2371548206, G237429762, G2521557779, G2618837358, G2810384502, G303061748, G3045592441, G30714459, G3083819904, G3310577945, G365575497, G3702897590, NNCI: Stanford University - SNSF, SNF, MAF, EMF, G419881185, G42916606, G4449252073, G4501827968, G495301720, G498139845, Harold Hwang Materials Synthesis Investigator Award, G5570207115, G5849692847, G650090426, G6550344761, G6639524044, G6652958823, G7283024673, G791371132, G805243471, G8382000481, G911061179, G969889393
OpenAlex ID: W3036718208