Phys.org May 10, 2022 Ferroelectric materials exhibit ferroelectricity and the ability to polarize spontaneously. Typically, researchers can manipulate and reverse the polarization by the application of an external electric field. Ultrafast interactions between light and matter are another promising route for controlling ferroelectric polarization, but until now researchers have struggled to achieve a light-induced, deterministic control of such polarization. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Arkansas, France, Luxembourg) discovered a so-called “squeezing effect” in ferroelectric materials subject to femtosecond laser pulses. These pulses destroyed the polarization component that is parallel to the field’s direction and created polarization […]
Tag Archives: Ferroelectric materials
Tiny electrical vortexes bridge gap between ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials
EurekAlert February 9, 2022 An international team of researchers (UK, Ireland, USA – Argonne National Laboratory) created a thin film of the ferroelectric lead titanate sandwiched between layers of the ferromagnet strontium ruthenate, each about 4 nanometres thick. The structure of the combined layers revealed that the domains in the lead titanate were a complex topological structure of lines of vortexes, spinning alternately in different directions. Almost identical behaviour has also been seen in ferromagnets where it is known to be generated by the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMi). According to the researchers the difference between ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity becomes less and […]
Changing the properties of ferroelectric materials by vacating a single oxygen atom
Phys.org January 3, 2022 In ferroelectric materials, a slight shift of the atoms causes significant changes in the electric field and in the contraction or expansion of the material. An international team of researchers (Israel, USA – UCLA) succeeded in deciphering the atomic structure and electric field deployment in domain walls at the atomic scale. They corroborate the assumption that domain walls allow for the existence of a two-dimensional border between domains as a result of partial oxygen vacancy in areas that are common to two domains, thus enabling greater flexibility in the deployment of the local electric field. They […]
Discovery could help lengthen lifespan of electronic devices
Science Daily April 9, 2021 Ferroelectric materials are subjected to repeated mechanical and electrical loading, leading to a progressive decrease in their functionality, ultimately resulting in failure. An international team of researchers (Australia, China, USA – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) observed ferroelectric fatigue as it occurred using in-situ biasing transmission electron microscopy. They discovered that charge accumulation at domain walls is the main reason of the formation of c domains, which are less responsive to the applied electric field. The rapid growth of the frozen c domains leads to the ferroelectric degradation. This finding gives insights into the nature of […]
At the edge of chaos, powerful new electronics could be created
Science Daily September 3, 2019 An international team of researchers (The Netherlands, USA – Pennsylvania State University, Spain, UK) observed a structural transition in the ferroelastic material barium titanate. The unit cells in these crystals are elongated creating an elastic strain that reduces the crystal stability. Increasing the temperature increases the entropy in the material. Cooling the material reduces the periodicity of the domains by repeated halving. They have shown that the behaviour observed in the ferroelastic barium titanate is generic for ferroic materials. Doubling of domains creates a structure similar to the bifurcating dendrites connecting the pyramidal cells in […]