Suppressed dependence of polarization on epitaxial strain in highly polar ferroelectrics

A combined experimental and computational investigation of coupling between polarization and epitaxial strain in highly polar ferroelectric PbZr(0.2)Ti(0.8)O3 (PZT) thin films is reported. A comparison of the properties of relaxed (tetragonality c/a approximately 1.05) and highly strained (c/a appro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2007-05, Vol.98 (21), p.217602-217602, Article 217602
Main Authors: Lee, Ho Nyung, Nakhmanson, Serge M, Chisholm, Matthew F, Christen, Hans M, Rabe, Karin M, Vanderbilt, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
EPITAXY
MATERIALS SCIENCE
PEROVSKITES
POLARIZATION
PZT
SENSITIVITY
STRAINS
THIN FILMS
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Summary:A combined experimental and computational investigation of coupling between polarization and epitaxial strain in highly polar ferroelectric PbZr(0.2)Ti(0.8)O3 (PZT) thin films is reported. A comparison of the properties of relaxed (tetragonality c/a approximately 1.05) and highly strained (c/a approximately 1.09) epitaxial films shows that polarization, while being amongst the highest reported for PZT or PbTiO3 in either film or bulk forms P(r) approximately 82 microC/cm(2)), is almost independent of the epitaxial strain. We attribute this behavior to a suppressed sensitivity of the A-site cations to epitaxial strain in these Pb-based perovskites, where the ferroelectric displacements are already large, contrary to the case of less polar perovskites, such as BaTiO3. In the latter case, the A-site cation (Ba) and equatorial oxygen displacements can lead to substantial polarization increases.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.98.217602