Nonlinear piezoelectricity in epitaxial ferroelectrics at high electric fields

Light-Induced Ideal Weyl Semimetal in HgTe via Nonlinear Phononics

Interactions between light and matter allow the realization of out-of-equilibrium states in quantum solids. In particular, nonlinear phononics is one of the most efficient approaches to realizing the stationary electronic state in nonequilibrium. Herein, by an extended ab initio molecular dynamics method, we identify that long-lived light-driven quasistationary geometry could stabilize the topological nature in the material family of HgTe compounds. We show that coherent excitation of the infrared-active phonon mode results in a distortion of the atomic geometry with a lifetime of several picoseconds. We show that four Weyl points are located exactly at the Fermi level in this nonequilibrium geometry, making it an ideal long-lived metastable Weyl semimetal. We propose that such a metastable topological phase can be identified by photoelectron spectroscopy of the Fermi arc surface states or ultrafast pump-probe transport measurements of the nonlinear Hall effect.

The time-resolved hard X-ray diffraction endstation KMC-3 XPP at BESSY II

The time-resolved hard X-ray diffraction endstation KMC-3 XPP for optical pump/X-ray probe experiments at the electron storage ring BESSY II is dedicated to investigating the structural response of thin film samples and heterostructures after their excitation with ultrashort laser pulses and/or electric field pulses. It enables experiments with access to symmetric and asymmetric Bragg reflections via a four-circle diffractometer and it is possible to keep the sample in high vacuum and vary the sample temperature between ∼15 K and 350 K. The femtosecond laser system permanently installed at the beamline allows for optical excitation of the sample at 1028 nm. A non-linear optical setup enables the sample excitation also at 514 nm and 343 nm. A time-resolution of 17 ps is achieved with the `low-α' operation mode of the storage ring and an electronic variation of the delay between optical pump and hard X-ray probe pulse conveniently accesses picosecond to microsecond timescales. Direct time-resolved detection of the diffracted hard X-ray synchrotron pulses use a gated area pixel detector or a fast point detector in single photon counting mode. The range of experiments that are reliably conducted at the endstation and that detect structural dynamics of samples excited by laser pulses or electric fields are presented.

Electric-Field-Driven Nanosecond Ferroelastic-Domain Switching Dynamics in Epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O_{3} Film

Epitaxial oxide ferroelectric films exhibit emerging phenomena arising from complex domain configurations even at pseudoequilibrium, including the creation of domain states unfavored in nature and abrupt piezoelectric coefficients around morphotropic phase boundaries. The nanometer-sized domain configurations and their domain switching dynamics under external stimuli are directly linked to the ultrafast manipulation of ferroelectric thin films; however, complex domain switching dynamics under homogeneous electric fields has not been fully explored, especially at the nanosecond timescale. This Letter reports the nanosecond dynamics of ferroelastic-domain switching from the 90° to 180° direction using time-resolved x-ray microdiffraction under homogeneous electric fields onto an epitaxial Pb(Zr_{0.35},Ti_{0.65})O_{3} film capacitor. It is found that the application of electric fields induces spatially heterogeneous domain switching processes via intermediate domain structures with rotated polarization vectors. In addition, the domain switching time is shown to be inversely proportional to the magnitude of the applied electric field, and electric fields higher than 480  kV/cm are found to complete the ferroelastic switching within nanoseconds.

New modalities of strain-control of ferroelectric thin films

Ferroelectrics, with their spontaneous switchable electric polarization and strong coupling between their electrical, mechanical, thermal, and optical responses, provide functionalities crucial for a diverse range of applications. Over the past decade, there has been significant progress in epitaxial strain engineering of oxide ferroelectric thin films to control and enhance the nature of ferroelectric order, alter ferroelectric susceptibilities, and to create new modes of response which can be harnessed for various applications. This review aims to cover some of the most important discoveries in strain engineering over the past decade and highlight some of the new and emerging approaches for strain control of ferroelectrics. We discuss how these new approaches to strain engineering provide promising routes to control and decouple ferroelectric susceptibilities and create new modes of response not possible in the confines of conventional strain engineering. To conclude, we will provide an overview and prospectus of these new and interesting modalities of strain engineering helping to accelerate their widespread development and implementation in future functional devices.

Spatially confined low-power optically pumped ultrafast synchrotron x-ray nanodiffraction

The combination of ultrafast optical excitation and time-resolved synchrotron x-ray nanodiffraction provides unique insight into the photoinduced dynamics of materials, with the spatial resolution required to probe individual nanostructures or small volumes within heterogeneous materials. Optically excited x-ray nanobeam experiments are challenging because the high total optical power required for experimentally relevant optical fluences leads to mechanical instability due to heating. For a given fluence, tightly focusing the optical excitation reduces the average optical power by more than three orders of magnitude and thus ensures sufficient thermal stability for x-ray nanobeam studies. Delivering optical pulses via a scannable fiber-coupled optical objective provides a well-defined excitation geometry during rotation and translation of the sample and allows the selective excitation of isolated areas within the sample. Experimental studies of the photoinduced lattice dynamics of a 35 nm BiFeO3 thin film on a SrTiO3 substrate demonstrate the potential to excite and probe nanoscale volumes.

Structural consequences of ferroelectric nanolithography

Domains of remnant polarization can be written into ferroelectrics with nanoscale precision using scanning probe nanolithography techniques such as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Understanding the structural effects accompanying this process has been challenging due to the lack of appropriate structural characterization tools. Synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction provides images of the domain structure written by PFM into an epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O(3) thin film and simultaneously reveals structural effects arising from the writing process. A coherent scattering simulation including the superposition of the beams simultaneously diffracted by multiple mosaic blocks provides an excellent fit to the observed diffraction patterns. Domains in which the polarization is reversed from the as-grown state have a strain of up to 0.1% representing the piezoelectric response to unscreened surface charges. An additional X-ray microdiffraction study of the photon-energy dependence of the difference in diffracted intensity between opposite polarization states shows that this contrast has a crystallographic origin. The sign and magnitude of the intensity contrast between domains of opposite polarization are consistent with the polarization expected from PFM images and with the writing of domains through the entire thickness of the ferroelectric layer. The strain induced by writing provides a significant additional contribution to the increased free energy of the written domain state with respect to a uniformly polarized state.

Nanosecond dynamics of ferroelectric/dielectric superlattices

The nanosecond response of a PbTiO(3)/SrTiO(3) ferroelectric/dielectric superlattice to applied electric fields is closely linked to the dynamics of striped domains of the remnant polarization. The intensity of domain satellite reflections observed with time-resolved x-ray microdiffraction decays in 5-100 ns depending on the magnitude of the electric field. The piezoelectric response of the superlattice within stripe domains is strongly suppressed due to electromechanical clamping between adjacent regions of opposite polarization. Regions of the superlattice that have been switched into a uniform polarization state by the applied electric field, however, exhibit piezoelectricity during the course of the switching process. We propose a switching model different from previous models of the switching of superlattices, based instead on a spatially heterogeneous transformation between striped and uniform polarization states.

Piezoelectricity in the dielectric component of nanoscale dielectric-ferroelectric superlattices

The origin of the functional properties of complex oxide superlattices can be resolved using time-resolved synchrotron x-ray diffraction into contributions from the component layers making up the repeating unit. The CaTiO3 layers of a CaTiO3/BaTiO3 superlattice have a piezoelectric response to an applied electric field, consistent with a large continuous polarization throughout the superlattice. The overall piezoelectric coefficient at large strains, 54  pm/V, agrees with first-principles predictions in which a tetragonal symmetry is imposed on the superlattice by the SrTiO3 substrate.

Notes of the recent structural studies on lead zirconate titanate

Atomic scale structure has a central importance for the understanding of functional properties of ferroelectrics. The X-ray and neutron diffraction studies used for the average symmetry determination of lead zirconate titanate [Pb(ZrxTi(1- x))O3, PZT] ceramics and powders are reviewed. The results obtained through two frequently used local probes, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with electron diffraction (ED) and Raman scattering measurements, are summarized. On the basis of these studies, structural trends as a function of composition x and temperature are outlined. There are two distinguished intrinsic structural features, (i) lead-ion shifts and (ii) local structural distortions related to different B cations and the spatial composition variation of x, which have a pronounced effect on the functional properties of PZT. Particular attention is paid to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) compositions for which a large number of different structural models have been proposed. Earlier symmetry considerations show that the monoclinic phase cannot serve as a continuous bridge between tetragonal and rhombohedral phases. This suggests that the two-phase coexistence has an important role for the piezoelectric properties. Near the MPB, the extrinsic contribution to piezoelectricity includes pressure (or electric-field)-induced changes in phase fractions and domain wall motion. It was recently shown that the domain contribution is crucial for the electromechanical properties of PZT in the vicinity of the MPB. The dependence of domain widths on crystal size and shape should also be properly accounted for when TEM/ED measurements complement X-ray and/or neutron diffraction experiments. The structure-piezoelectric property relations are summarized.