Ferroelastic switching in a layered-perovskite thin film

Chuanshou Wang, Xiaoxing Ke, Jianjun Wang, Renrong Liang, Zhenlin Luo, Yu Tian, Di Yi, Qintong Zhang, Jing Wang, Xiu Feng Han, Gustaaf Van Tendeloo, Long Qing Chen, Ce Wen Nan, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Jinxing Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

114 Scopus citations

Abstract

A controllable ferroelastic switching in ferroelectric/multiferroic oxides is highly desirable due to the non-volatile strain and possible coupling between lattice and other order parameter in heterostructures. However, a substrate clamping usually inhibits their elastic deformation in thin films without micro/nano-patterned structure so that the integration of the non-volatile strain with thin film devices is challenging. Here, we report that reversible in-plane elastic switching with a non-volatile strain of approximately 0.4% can be achieved in layeredperovskite Bi2WO6 thin films, where the ferroelectric polarization rotates by 90° within four in-plane preferred orientations. Phase-field simulation indicates that the energy barrier of ferroelastic switching in orthorhombic Bi2WO6 film is ten times lower than the one in PbTiO3 films, revealing the origin of the switching with negligible substrate constraint. The reversible control of the in-plane strain in this layered-perovskite thin film demonstrates a new pathway to integrate mechanical deformation with nanoscale electronic and/or magnetoelectronic applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number10636
JournalNature communications
Volume7
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 3 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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