Giant enhancement of ferroelectric retention in BiFeO3 mixed-phase boundary.

Huang, Yen-Chin; Liu, Yunya; Lin, Yi-Tsu; Liu, Heng-Jui; He, Qing; Li, Jiangyu; Chen, Yi-Chun; Chu, Ying-Hao · Adv Mater · 2014

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A large enhancement of nanodomain retention is shown in the mixed-phase region of a strained BiFeO3 epitaxial film. The superior ferroelectric retention is attributed to a lower elastic-energy density at the phase boundaries, which act as periodic pinning centers for the domain wall motion. This study delivers a new pathway of incorporating an elastic-energy term to assist ferroelectric retention.