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

doi:10.1038/nmat2114

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 journal › Article › peer-review

264 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 language	English
Pages (from-to)	209-215
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Materials
Volume	7
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2114
State	Published - Mar 2008

Funding

Research sponsored by the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy (S.J., A.P.B. and S.V.K.) and the ORNL LDRD program (B.J.R.). J.X.Z., S.C. and L.-Q.C. at Penn State acknowledge the financial support of the NSF under DMR-0507146 and DOE under DE-FG02-07ER46417. Multiple discussions with A. Tagantsev and J. Scott are gratefully acknowledged. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.V.K. Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on www.nature.com/naturematerials.

Funders	Funder number
ORNL LDRD
Office of Basic Energy Sciences
US Department of Energy
National Science Foundation	DMR-0507146
U.S. Department of Energy	DE-FG02-07ER46417
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering

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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.",

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AU - Jesse, Stephen

AU - Rodriguez, Brian J.

AU - Choudhury, Samrat

AU - Baddorf, Arthur P.

AU - Vrejoiu, Ionela

AU - Hesse, Dietrich

AU - Alexe, Marin

AU - Eliseev, Eugene A.

AU - Morozovska, Anna N.

AU - Zhang, Jingxian

AU - Chen, Long Qing

AU - Kalinin, Sergei V.

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Y1 - 2008/3

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AB - 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.

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

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