Coexistence of ferroelectric and ferrielectric phases in ultrathin antiferroelectric PbZrO3 thin films
Liu, Ying (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Niu, Ranming (The University of Sydney)
Uriach, Roger (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Pesquera, David (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Caicedo Roque, Jose Manuel (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Santiso, José (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Cairney, Julie M. (The University of Sydney)
Liao, Xiaozhou (The University of Sydney)
Arbiol i Cobos, Jordi (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Catalan, Gustau (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	Whereas ferroelectricity may vanish in ultra-thin ferroelectric films, it is expected to emerge in ultra-thin antiferroelectric films, sparking people's interest in using antiferroelectric materials as an alternative to ferroelectric ones for high-density data storage applications. Lead Zirconate (PbZrO, PZO) is considered the prototype material for antiferroelectricity, and indeed, previous studies indicated that nanoscale PZO films exhibit ferroelectricity. The understanding of such phenomena from the microstructure aspect is crucial but still lacking. In this study, we fabricated a PZO film with thicknesses varying from 5 to 80 nm. Using Piezoresponse Force Microscopy, we discovered that the film displayed a transition from antiferroelectric behavior in the thicker areas to ferroelectric behavior in the thinner ones, with a critical thickness between 10 and 15 nm. In this critical thickness range, a 12 nm PZO thin film was chosen for further study using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The investigation showed that the film comprises both ferroelectric and ferrielectric phases. The ferroelectric phase is characterized by polarization along the [011] projection direction. The positions of Pb, Zr, and O were determined using the integrated differential phase contrast method. This allowed us to ascertain that the ferroelectric PZO unit cell is half the size of that in the antiferroelectric phase on the ab plane. The observed unit cell is different from the electric field-induced ferroelectric rhombohedral phases. Additionally, we identified a ferrielectric phase with a unique up-up-zero-zero (↑↑··) dipole configuration. The finding is crucial for understanding the performance of ultrathin antiferroelectric thin films and the subsequent design and development of antiferroelectric devices.
Grants:	European Commission 766726 European Commission 754510 "la Caixa" Foundation 100010434 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00457 Agencia Estatal de Investigación CEX2021-001214-S
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	(Anti)ferroelectric ; Ferrielectric ; Lead zirconate (PbZrO3) ; Thin films ; Scanning transmission electron microscopy
Published in:	Microstructures, Vol. 4 (July 2024) , art. 2024045, ISSN 2770-2995

DOI: 10.20517/microstructures.2024.12

11 p, 3.9 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles