Browsing by Author "Chen, Hsiang-Jung"

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Concurrent transition of ferroelectric and magnetic ordering near room temperature
(2011-11-01)
Ko, Kyung-Tae
;
Jung, Min Hwa
;
He, Qing
;
Lee, Jin Hong
;
Woo, Chang Su
Strong spin-lattice coupling in condensed matter gives rise to intriguing physical phenomena such as colossal magnetoresistance and giant magnetoelectric effects. The phenomenological hallmark of such a strong spin-lattice coupling is the manifestation of a large anomaly in the crystal structure at the magnetic transition temperature. Here we report that the magnetic Neel temperature of the multiferroic compound BiFeO3 is suppressed to around room temperature by heteroepitaxial misfit strain. Remarkably, the ferroelectric state undergoes a first-order transition to another ferroelectric state simultaneously with the magnetic transition temperature. Our findings provide a unique example of a concurrent magnetic and ferroelectric transition at the same temperature among proper ferroelectrics, taking a step toward room temperature magnetoelectric applications.
Strain-driven phase boundaries in BiFeO(3) thin films studied by atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction
(2012-01-17)
Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Liang, Chen-Wei
;
Liang, Wen-I
;
Chen, Hsiang-Jung
;
Yang, Jan-Chi
We report a detailed study on the strain-driven phase transition between the tetragonal-like and rhombohedral-like phases in epitaxial BiFeO(3) (BFO) thin films which focuses on their structural nature, thermodynamic stability, and ferroelectric/piezoelectric properties. We first show that the tetragonal-like phase, which has a large c/a ratio (similar to 1.2), in the compressively strained BFO is thermodynamically more favorable at high temperature and high strain state (small thickness). We also report a phase transition between two monoclinic phases at 150 degrees C. The two monoclinic phases are differentiated by their c-axis parameters and tilting angles: The low-temperature phase (M(C)) has a c-axis parameter of 4.64 angstrom and a tilting angle (beta = 88.5 degrees) along the a axis, while the high-temperature phase (M(A)) has a c-axis parameter of 4.66 angstrom and a tilting angle (beta = 86.8 degrees) along both of the a and b axes. We further show that samples undergoing the M(C)-M(A) phase transition exhibit ferroelectric polarization rotation and piezoelectric enhancement. Our findings directly unveil the close links between structural changes, polarization rotation, and large piezoelectricity at morphotropic phase boundaries in BiFeO(3).
Strain-driven phase boundaries in BiFeO3 thin films studied by atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction
(2012-01-17)
Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Liang, Chen-Wei
;
Liang, Wen-I
;
Chen, Hsiang-Jung
;
Yang, Jan-Chi
We report a detailed study on the strain-driven phase transition between the tetragonal-like and rhombohedral-like phases in epitaxial BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films which focuses on their structural nature, thermodynamic stability, and ferroelectric/piezoelectric properties. We first show that the tetragonal-like phase, which has a large c/a ratio (similar to 1.2), in the compressively strained BFO is thermodynamically more favorable at high temperature and high strain state (small thickness). We also report a phase transition between two monoclinic phases at 150 degrees C. The two monoclinic phases are differentiated by their c-axis parameters and tilting angles: The low-temperature phase (M-C) has a c-axis parameter of 4.64 angstrom and a tilting angle (beta = 88.5 degrees) along the a axis, while the high-temperature phase (M-A) has a c-axis parameter of 4.66 angstrom and a tilting angle (beta = 86.8 degrees) along both of the a and b axes. We further show that samples undergoing the M-C-M-A phase transition exhibit ferroelectric polarization rotation and piezoelectric enhancement. Our findings directly unveil the close links between structural changes, polarization rotation, and large piezoelectricity at morphotropic phase boundaries in BiFeO3.
Structural study in highly compressed BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films on YAlO3
(2012-09-01)
Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Chen, Hsiang-Jung
;
Liang, Wen-I
;
Liang, Chen-Wei
;
Lee, Hsin-Yi
We report a study on the thermodynamic stability and structure analysis of the epitaxial BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films grown on YAlO3 (YAO) substrate. First, we observe a phase transition of M-C-M-A-T occurs in thin sample (<60 nm) with an utter tetragonal-like phase (denoted as M-II here) with a large c/a ratio (similar to 1.23). Specifically, MII phase transition process refers to the structural evolution from a monoclinic M-C structure at room temperature to a monoclinic M-A at higher temperature (150 degrees C) and eventually to a presence of nearly tetragonal structure above 275 degrees C. This phase transition is further confirmed by the piezoforce microscopy measurement, which shows the rotation of polarization axis during the phase transition. A systematic study on structural evolution with thickness to elucidate the impact of strain state is performed. We note that the YAO substrate can serve as a felicitous base for growing T-like BFO because this phase stably exists in very thick film. Thick BFO films grown on YAO substrate exhibit a typical "morphotropic-phase-boundary"-like feature with coexisting multiple phases (M-II, M-I, and R) and a periodic stripe-like topography. A discrepancy of arrayed stripe morphology in different direction on YAO substrate due to the anisotropic strain suggests a possibility to tune the MPB-like region. Our study provides more insights to understand the strain mediated phase co-existence in multiferroic BFO system. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4746036]