Electric field driven domain wall dynamics in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msub><mml:mi>BaTiO</mml:mi><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math> nanoparticles
We report a detailed investigation into the response of single <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><a:msub><a:mi>BaTiO</a:mi><a:mn>3</a:mn></a:msub></a:math> (BTO) nanocrystals under applied electric fields (E-field) using Bragg coherent diffraction imaging. Our study reveals pronounced domain wall migration and expansion of a sample measure under applied electric field. The changes are most prominent at the surface of the nanocrystal, where the lack of external strain allows greater domain wall mobility. The observed domain shifts are correlated to the strength and orientation of the applied E-field, following a side-by-side domain model from Suzana []. Notably, we identified a critical electric field strength of 3 MV/m, which leads to irreversible structural changes, suggesting plastic deformation. The findings highlight how surface effects and intrinsic defects contribute to the enhanced dielectric properties of BTO at the nanoscale, in contrast to bulk materials, where strain limits domain mobility. These findings deepen our understanding of nanoscale dielectric behavior and inform the design of advanced nanoelectronic devices.
Authors
- Jialun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5606-7840)
- Ana F. Suzana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5736-7506)
- David Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1062-7371)
- Steven Leake (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1640-0386)
- Ian Robinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4897-5221)
Institutions
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- London Centre for Nanotechnology (GB)
- Elkhorn Slough Foundation (US)
- Advanced Photonix (United States) (US)
- Advanced Photon Source
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. B./Physical review. B
- Published
- 2025-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.111.054101
- Primary Topic
- Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
- Office of Science
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Brookhaven National Laboratory