Colossal Strain Tuning of Ferroelectric Transitions in KNbO<sub>3</sub> Thin Films

Strong coupling between polarization (P) and strain (ɛ) in ferroelectric complex oxides offers unique opportunities to dramatically tune their properties. Here colossal strain tuning of ferroelectricity in epitaxial KNbO<sub>3</sub> thin films grown by sub-oxide molecular beam epitaxy is demonstrated. While bulk KNbO<sub>3</sub> exhibits three ferroelectric transitions and a Curie temperature (T<sub>c</sub>) of ≈676 K, phase-field modeling predicts that a biaxial strain of as little as -0.6% pushes its T<sub>c</sub> > 975 K, its decomposition temperature in air, and for -1.4% strain, to T<sub>c</sub> > 1325 K, its melting point. Furthermore, a strain of -1.5% can stabilize a single phase throughout the entire temperature range of its stability. A combination of temperature-dependent second harmonic generation measurements, synchrotron-based X-ray reciprocal space mapping, ferroelectric measurements, and transmission electron microscopy reveal a single tetragonal phase from 10 K to 975 K, an enhancement of ≈46% in the tetragonal phase remanent polarization (P<sub>r</sub>), and a ≈200% enhancement in its optical second harmonic generation coefficients over bulk values. These properties in a lead-free system, but with properties comparable or superior to lead-based systems, make it an attractive candidate for applications ranging from high-temperature ferroelectric memory to cryogenic temperature quantum computing.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2024-11-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202408664
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.05

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article

Colossal Strain Tuning of Ferroelectric Transitions in KNbO3 Thin Films

Suchismita Sarker, Sankalpa Hazra, Salva Salmani‐Rezaie, Alexei L. Gruverman et al.
9 citations
Advanced Materials
Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
1.05
article

Colossal Strain Tuning of Ferroelectric Transitions in KNbO3 Thin Films

Suchismita Sarker, Sankalpa Hazra, Salva Salmani‐Rezaie, Alexei L. Gruverman, Venkatraman Gopalan, Xiaoshan Xu, Haidong Lu, Saugata Sarker, Aiden Ross, Susan Trolier‐McKinstry, Benjamin Z. Gregory, Andrej Singer, David Anthony Muller, Matthew R. Barone, Betul Akkopru‐Akgun, Roman Engel‐Herbert, Upal Saha, J. W. Freeland, Tobias Schwaigert, Vladimir A. Stoica, Darrell G. Schlom, Aaron M. Lindenberg, Gian‐Marco Rignanese, Anudeep Mangu, Victor Trinquet, Long‐Qing Chen, Xin Li, Tatiana Kuznetsova
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Strong coupling between polarization (P) and strain (ɛ) in ferroelectric complex oxides offers unique opportunities to dramatically tune their properties. Here colossal strain tuning of ferroelectricity in epitaxial KNbO<sub>3</sub> thin films grown by sub-oxide molecular beam epitaxy is demonstrated. While bulk KNbO<sub>3</sub> exhibits three ferroelectric transitions and a Curie temperature (T<sub>c</sub>) of ≈676 K, phase-field modeling predicts that a biaxial strain of as little as -0.6% pushes its T<sub>c</sub> > 975 K, its decomposition temperature in air, and for -1.4% strain, to T<sub>c</sub> > 1325 K, its melting point. Furthermore, a strain of -1.5% can stabilize a single phase throughout the entire temperature range of its stability. A combination of temperature-dependent second harmonic generation measurements, synchrotron-based X-ray reciprocal space mapping, ferroelectric measurements, and transmission electron microscopy reveal a single tetragonal phase from 10 K to 975 K, an enhancement of ≈46% in the tetragonal phase remanent polarization (P<sub>r</sub>), and a ≈200% enhancement in its optical second harmonic generation coefficients over bulk values. These properties in a lead-free system, but with properties comparable or superior to lead-based systems, make it an attractive candidate for applications ranging from high-temperature ferroelectric memory to cryogenic temperature quantum computing.

Advanced MaterialsVol. 36(52)
University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US), Argonne National Laboratory (US), Pennsylvania State University (US), Cornell University (US), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US), Interface (United States) (US), Paul Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics (DE), Forschungsverbund Berlin (DE), The Ohio State University (US), Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (DE), UCLouvain (BE), Stanford University (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Ohio State University, Waalse Gewest, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Office of Science, Cornell Center for Materials Research, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University, Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture, Division of Materials Research, Basic Energy Sciences
Affordable and clean energy
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Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
1.05
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