Phase-Field Model of Inhomogeneous Ferroelectric Crystals Under Ultrafast Stimuli

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY

This award supports theoretical research, computational modeling, and education that aim towards better understanding ferroelectric materials. Ferroelectrics comprise a class of crystalline materials that have found important technological applications in many types of devices, such as medical and underwater transducers, sensors, non-volatile memories, energy-efficient cooling. The goal of this research program is to develop the necessary materials theories and computer codes to understand how these ferroelectric crystals respond when subjected to external ultrafast stimuli, such as a sudden temperature rise or an electric-field pulse on their surface. The researchers will also explore possible new material states that may emerge as a result of such external stimulation. The group will utilize a network of experimental collaborators to validate the developed theory and computer codes against experiments. The developed theory and computer codes could find use in describing similar phenomena in other materials systems, for example the ultrafast magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic materials for memory applications, and the potential formation of and transitions between novel electronic phases in electronic switching devices.

The project is expected to have impact not only on materials science by advancing materials theories, but also on applied mathematics and the mechanics of materials. The PI will also integrate several educational and outreach activities into the research; these include: 1) the development of an open-source version of modeling software for materials and the organization of an associated annual workshop, 2) the recruitment of undergraduate students to perform research using the software package, and 3) the engagement of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM via participation in university-wide organized outreach activities and by recruiting them to perform research in the PI's laboratory.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

This award supports theoretical research, computational modeling, and education that aim towards better understanding ferroelectric materials. Ferroelectrics comprise a class of crystalline materials that have found important technological applications in many types of devices, such as medical and underwater transducers, sensors, non-volatile memories, energy-efficient cooling. The goal of this research program is to understand the dynamic responses of inhomogeneous ferroelectric crystals under external ultrafast stimuli and in the presence of complex electrostatic and elastic interactions among domains within the crystal. The PI and his group will develop a dynamical phase-field method to model, predict, and understand the dynamical spatiotemporal evolution of polarization and strain domain patterns under ultrafast stimuli, taking into account long-range electrostatic and elastic interactions and domain-wall energy. The group will also explore novel transient or metastable domain states that may emerge when an inhomogeneous crystal relaxes from its externally stimulated excited state back to the original or a new equilibrium state; these could be hidden states that are normally not observable under thermodynamic conditions. The researchers will investigate ferroelectric and piezoelectric responses of inhomogeneous crystals under ultrafast external stimuli, and will explore thermal, electric, mechanical, and multifunctional responses at ultrafast frequencies. The group will utilize a network of experimental collaborators to validate the developed theory and computer codes against experiments.

The proposed dynamic phase-field method can be extended to the study of many other problems. For example, it can be adapted to solve a micromagnetic phase-field equation coupled with an elastodynamic equation for exploring ultrafast magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic materials with strong magnetoelastic coupling. The proposed approach can also be extended to the study of electron-lattice coupling phenomena and the potential formation of novel electronic phases by introducing electronic degrees of freedom under ultrafast stimuli, allowing the manipulation of electronic phase transitions such as metal-insulator transitions in correlated systems.

The project is expected to have impact not only on materials science by advancing materials theories, but also on applied mathematics and the mechanics of materials. The PI will also integrate several educational and outreach activities into the research; these include: 1) the development of an open-source version of modeling software for ferroic materials and the organization of an associated annual workshop, 2) the recruitment of undergraduate students to perform research using the software package, and 3) the engagement of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM via participation in university-wide organized outreach activities and by recruiting them to perform research in the PI's laboratory.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

StatusFinished
Effective start/end date9/1/1812/31/22

Funding

  • National Science Foundation: $330,000.00

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