Direct imaging of the spatial and energy distribution of nucleation centres in ferroelectric materials

Stephen Jesse, Brian J. Rodriguez, Samrat Choudhury, Arthur P. Baddorf, Ionela Vrejoiu, Dietrich Hesse, Marin Alexe, Eugene A. Eliseev, Anna N. Morozovska, Jingxian Zhang, Long Qing Chen, Sergei V. Kalinin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

269 Scopus citations

Abstract

Macroscopic ferroelectric polarization switching, similar to other first-order phase transitions, is controlled by nucleation centres. Despite 50 years of extensive theoretical and experimental effort, the microstructural origins of the Landauer paradox, that is, the experimentally observed low values of coercive fields in ferroelectrics corresponding to implausibly large nucleation activation energies, are still a mystery. Here, we develop an approach to visualize the nucleation centres controlling polarization switching processes with nanometre resolution, determine their spatial and energy distribution and correlate them to local microstructure. The random-bond and random-field components of the disorder potential are extracted from positive and negative nucleation biases. Observation of enhanced nucleation activity at the 90 domain wall boundaries and intersections combined with phase-field modelling identifies them as a class of nucleation centres that control switching in structural-defect-free materials.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)209-215
Number of pages7
JournalNature Materials
Volume7
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2008

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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