Browsing by Author "Gao, Peng"

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Atomic mechanism of polarization-controlled surface reconstruction in ferroelectric thin films
(2016-04-01)
Gao, Peng
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Liu, Heng-Jui
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Huang, Yen-Lin
;
Chu, Ying-Hao
;
Ishikawa, Ryo
At the ferroelectric surface, the broken translational symmetry induced bound charge should significantly alter the local atomic configurations. Experimentally revealing the atomic structure of ferroelectric surface, however, is very challenging due to the strong spatial variety between nano-sized domains, and strong interactions between the polarization and other structural parameters. Here, we study surface structures of Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3 thin film by using the annular bright-field imaging. We find that six atomic layers with suppressed polarization and a charged 180 degrees domain wall are at negatively poled surfaces, no reconstruction exists at positively poled surfaces, and seven atomic layers with suppressed polarization and a charged 90 degrees domain wall exist at nominally neutral surfaces in ferroelastic domains. Our results provide critical insights into engineering ferroelectric thin films, fine grain ceramics and surface chemistry devices. The state-of-the-art methodology demonstrated here can greatly advance our understanding of surface science for oxides.
Atomic-scale mechanism of internal structural relaxation screening at polar interfaces
(2018-05-25)
Li, Mingqiang
;
Cheng, Xiaoxing
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Li, Ning
;
Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Huang, Yen-Lin
The effective screening of the polarization bound charge is a prerequisite to stabilize the ferroelectricity in ferroelectric thin films. Here, by combining annular bright field imaging and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope with phase-field simulations, we investigate the screening mechanism by quantitatively measuring the structural relaxation at Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3/SrTiO3 interfaces. We find that the thickness of the interfacial layer is similar to 3.5 unit cells (similar to 1.4 nm) in a domain with upward polarization and similar to 5.5 unit cells (similar to 2.2 nm) in a domain with downward polarization. Phase-field simulations, an EELS analysis, and a lattice parameter analysis verify the existence of interfacial oxygen vacancies accounting for the narrower interfacial layer in the domain with upward polarization. Our study indicates the internal structural relaxation at the interface is the dominant mechanism for the polarization charge screening for ferroelectric films grown on insulating substrates and has implications for our understanding of domain switching in ferroelectric devices.
Direct observation of weakened interface clamping effect enabled ferroelastic domain switching
(2019-06-01)
Li, Mingqiang
;
Wang, Bo
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Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Huang, Yen-Lin
;
Zhang, Jingmin
Reversible switching of non-180 degrees ferroelastic domains that largely alters the local strain distribution enables many electromechanical, electromagnetic and electroacoustic applications. However, in thin films, the ferroelastic domain walls are usually believed to be immobile because of the interface clamping and/or dislocation pinning. Here, using in situ and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, we directly observe reversible switching of individual 90 degrees domains in dislocation-free PbTiO3 thin films and uncover the weakened interface clamping effect. We find the tetragonality is suppressed to similar to 1.017 while the polarization vectors rotate 45 degrees in the a-domain near the interface. These huge structural distortions at the interface is mainly responsible for the weakened clamping effect and thus the ability to switch ferroelastic domains. The switching is fully reversible (i.e., either electric field or mechanical stress can re-establish the erased domain) regardless of polarization orientation of the c-domain matrix. Phase-field modeling also shows excellent agreement with experimental observations. Our study reveals the mechanism of controllable and reversible ferroelastic domain switching, enabling the design of new actuators, sensors, and electromagnetic devices. (C) 2019 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Possible absence of critical thickness and size effect in ultrathin perovskite ferroelectric films
(2017-06-06)
Gao, Peng
;
Zhang, Zhangyuan
;
Li, Mingqiang
;
Ishikawa, Ryo
;
Feng, Bin
Although the size effect in ferroelectric thin films has been known for long time, the underlying mechanism is not yet fully understood and whether or not there is a critical thickness below which the ferroelectricity vanishes is still under debate. Here, we directly measure the thickness-dependent polarization in ultrathin PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 films via quantitative annular bright field imaging. We find that the polarization is significantly suppressed for films <10-unit cells thick (similar to 4 nm). However, approximately the polarization never vanishes. The residual polarization is similar to 16 mu Ccm(-2) (similar to 17%) at 1.5-unit cells (similar to 0.6 nm) thick film on bare SrTiO3 and similar to 22 mu Ccm(-2) at 2-unit cells thick film on SrTiO3 with SrRuO3 electrode. The residual polarization in these ultrathin films is mainly attributed to the robust covalent Pb-O bond. Our atomic study provides new insights into mechanistic understanding of nanoscale ferroelectricity and the size effects.
Tetragonal BiFeO3 on yttria-stabilized zirconia
(2015-11-01)
Liu, Heng-Jui
;
Du, Yu-Hao
;
Gao, Peng
;
Huang, Yen-Chin
;
Chen, Hsiao-Wen
High structural susceptibility of multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) makes it a potential replacement of current Pb-based piezoelectrics. In this study, a tetragonal phase is identified based on a combination of x-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electronic microscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy when BFO is grown on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates. To distinguish the discrepancy between this tetragonal phase and common cases of monoclinic BFO, piezoelectric force microscopy images and optical property are also performed. It shows a lower electrostatic energy of ferroelectric domains and a large reduction of band gap for BFO grown on YSZ substrate comparing to the well-known one grown on LaAlO3 substrate. Our findings in this work can provide more insights to understand the structural diversity of multiferroic BFO system for further applications. (C) 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.