Statistical distribution of switching times is a key information necessary to describe the dynamic response of a polycrystalline bulk ferroelectric to an applied electric field. The Inhomogeneous Field Mechanism (IFM) model offers a useful tool which allows extraction of this information from polarization switching measurements over a large time window. In this paper, the model was further developed to account for the presence of non-switchable regions in fatigued materials. Application of the IFM- analysis to bipolar electric cycling induced fatigue process of various lead-based and lead-free ferroelectric ceramics reveals different scenarios of property degradation. Insight is gained into different underlying fatigue mechanisms inherent to the investigated systems.
Consecutive stochastic 90{deg} polarization switching events, clearly resolved in recent experiments, are described by a new nucleation and growth multi-step model. It extends the classical Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi approach and includes possible consecutive 90{deg}- and parallel 180{deg}-switching events. The model predicts the results of simultaneous time-resolved macroscopic measurements of polarization and strain, performed on a tetragonal Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramic in a wide range of electric fields over a time domain of five orders of the magnitude. It allows the determination of the fractions of individual switching processes, their characteristic switching times, activation fields, and respective Avrami indices.
The correlation between the shift current mechanism for the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) and the structural and electronic properties of ferroelectric perovskite oxides is not well understood. Here, we study and engineer the shift current photovoltaic effect using a visible-light-absorbing ferroelectric Pb(Ni$_{x}$Ti$_{1-x}$)O$_{3-x}$ solid solution from first principles. We show that the covalent orbital character dicates the direction, magnitude, and onset energy of shift current in a predictable fashion. In particular, we find that the shift current response can be enhanced via electrostatic control in layered ferroelectrics, as bound charges face a stronger impetus to screen the electric field in a thicker material, delocalizing electron densities. This heterogeneous layered structure with alternative photocurrent generating and insulating layers is ideal for BPVE applications.
In this study, we carry out density functional theory calculations to elucidate the polarization switching mechanism in charge-order-induced ferroelectrics. Based on the investigations about (SrVO$_3$)$_1$(LaVO$_3$)$_1$ superlattice, we demonstrate that the charge ordering state couples strongly to lattice modes, and charge-transfer induced polarization switching has to be associated with changes of lattice distortions. Based on the type of lattice mode strongly coupled to charge ordering states, we classify the charge ordering materials in two type, namely polyhedral breathing and off-centering displacement types. We further demonstrate that only in off-centering displacement type charger ordering material, the polarization is switchable under an external field. The implications of this theory to experimental observations are also discussed and we successfully explain the different electrical behaviors in LuFe$_2$O$_4$ and Fe$_3$O$_4$. This study aims to provide guidance for searching and designing charge ordering ferroelectrics with switchable polarization.
As a room-temperature multiferroic, BiFeO3 has been intensively investigated for both magnetoelectric devices and non-volatile ferroelectric memory applications. Both magnetoelectric and ferroelectric memory devices have the same control knob: polarization switching by an applied electric field. Due to the rhombohedral symmetry of BiFeO3, there are four ferroelastic variances and three different polarization switching events: (1) 71{deg} switching from r1- to r3+, (2) 109{deg} switching from r1- to r2+ (or r4+), and (3) 180o switching from r1- to r1+ (the superscript + and - stand for up and down polarization, respectively). Each switching path is coupled to a different reorientation of the BiFeO3 unit cell, and hence different coupling to the magnetic order as well as different magnitudes of switchable polarization. A degradation of the ferroelectric properties of BiFeO3 will result in losing controllability of magnetic order switching in magnetoelectric devices and capacity for information storage in ferroelectric memory devices. Especially, polarization fatigue will directly restrict the reliability of the actual devices. Hence it is important to understand the intrinsic fatigue behavior of each polarization switching path in BiFeO3 thin films. In this communication, we report polarization fatigue in BiFeO3 depending on switching path, and propose a fatigue model which will broaden our understanding of the fatigue phenomenon in low-symmetry materials.
We calculate the bulk photovoltaic response of the ferroelectrics BaTiO$_3$ and PbTiO$_3$ from first principles by applying shift current theory to the electronic structure from density functional theory. The first principles results for BaTiO$_3$ reproduce eperimental photocurrent direction and magnitude as a function of light frequency, as well as the dependence of current on light polarization, demonstrating that shift current is the dominant mechanism of the bulk photovoltaic effect in BaTiO$_3$. Additionally, we analyze the relationship between response and material properties in detail. The photocurrent does not depend simply or strongly on the magnitude of material polarization, as has been previously assumed; instead, electronic states with delocalized, covalent bonding that is highly asymmetric along the current direction are required for strong shift current enhancements. The complexity of the response dependence on both external and material parameters suggests applications not only in solar energy conversion, but to photocatalysis and sensor and switch type devices as well.