Domain wall motions in BST ferroelectric thin films in the microwave frequency range

• Published in: Applied physics letters 2016-12, Vol.109 (26)
• Main Authors: Nadaud, Kevin, Borderon, Caroline, Renoud, Raphaël, Ghalem, Areski, Crunteanu, Aurelian, Huitema, Laure, Dumas-Bouchiat, Frédéric, Marchet, Pascal, Champeaux, Corinne, Gundel, Hartmut W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amplitudes; Applied physics; Complex permittivity; Dielectric loss; Dielectric properties; Domain walls; Electronics; Engineering Sciences; Ferroelectric materials; Ferroelectricity; Microwave frequencies; Permittivity; Pulsed laser deposition; Pulsed lasers; Substrates; Thin films
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4973451

The existence of domain wall motion at microwave frequencies and its contribution to the ferroelectric complex permittivity is shown by evaluating the dielectric properties of BaSrTiO3 (BST) thin films as a function of the incident power. Even at low AC field amplitudes, the presence of the domain walls and the correlated motions (vibration and jumps) result in sensitivity of the dielectric properties to the incident field amplitude. Although the contribution of domain wall motion to the real part of the permittivity is not preponderant (less than 10%), it represents more than 50% of the material's global dielectric losses. This illustrates the importance to consider domain wall motion even in the microwave frequency region and the necessity to take into account the applied AC field amplitude (and thus the incident power) when characterizing ferroelectric materials. The present study has been realized on BST thin films, elaborated by pulsed laser deposition on MgO/Ir substrates.