WorldWideScience

Sample records for film ferroelectric composition

  1. The enhanced piezoelectricity in compositionally graded ferroelectric thin films under electric field: A role of flexoelectric effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Ye; Wu, Huaping; Wang, Jie; Lou, Jia; Zhang, Zheng; Liu, Aiping; Chai, Guozhong

    2018-02-01

    Compositionally graded ferroelectric thin films are found to produce large strain gradients, which can be used to tune the physical properties of materials through the flexoelectric effect, i.e., the coupling of polarization and the strain gradient. The influences of the flexoelectric effect on the polarization distribution and the piezoelectric properties in compositionally graded Ba1-xSrxTiO3 ferroelectric thin films are investigated by using an extended thermodynamic theory. The calculation results show that the presence of the flexoelectric effect tends to enhance and stabilize polarization components. The polarization rotation induced by the flexoelectric field has been predicted, which is accompanied by more uniform and orderly polarization components. A remarkable enhancement of piezoelectricity is obtained when the flexoelectric field is considered, suggesting that compositionally graded Ba1-xSrxTiO3 ferroelectric thin films with a large strain gradient are promising candidates for piezoelectric devices.

  2. Ferroelectric ultrathin perovskite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rappe, Andrew M; Kolpak, Alexie Michelle

    2013-12-10

    Disclosed herein are perovskite ferroelectric thin-film. Also disclosed are methods of controlling the properties of ferroelectric thin films. These films can be used in a variety materials and devices, such as catalysts and storage media, respectively.

  3. Thick-film processing of Pb5Ge3O11-based ferroelectric glass-ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cornejo, I.A.; Haun, M.J.

    1996-01-01

    Processing techniques were investigated to produce c-axis orientation, or texture, of ferroelectric Pb 5 Ge 3 O 11 -based glass-ceramic compositions during crystallization of amorphous thick-film printed samples from the Pb 5 Ge 3 O 11 -PbTiO 3 (PG-PT) and Pb 5 Ge 3 O 11 -Pb(Zr 1/2 Ti 1/2 )O 3 (PG-PZT) systems. In these systems the PG crystallized into a ferroelectric phase, producing a multiple ferroelectric phase composite at low temperatures, PG-PT or PG-PZT. In this way the non-ferroelectric component of traditional ferroelectric glass-ceramics was eliminated

  4. Geometric shape control of thin film ferroelectrics and resulting structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick J.

    2000-01-01

    A monolithic crystalline structure and a method of making involves a semiconductor substrate, such as silicon, and a ferroelectric film, such as BaTiO.sub.3, overlying the surface of the substrate wherein the atomic layers of the ferroelectric film directly overlie the surface of the substrate. By controlling the geometry of the ferroelectric thin film, either during build-up of the thin film or through appropriate treatment of the thin film adjacent the boundary thereof, the in-plane tensile strain within the ferroelectric film is relieved to the extent necessary to permit the ferroelectric film to be poled out-of-plane, thereby effecting in-plane switching of the polarization of the underlying substrate material. The method of the invention includes the steps involved in effecting a discontinuity of the mechanical restraint at the boundary of the ferroelectric film atop the semiconductor substrate by, for example, either removing material from a ferroelectric film which has already been built upon the substrate, building up a ferroelectric film upon the substrate in a mesa-shaped geometry or inducing the discontinuity at the boundary by ion beam deposition techniques.

  5. Microwave properties of film Ba x Sr1 - x TiO3 ferroelectric variconds with a magnesium-containing additive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumarkin, A. V.; Tepina, E. R.; Nenasheva, E. A.; Kartenko, N. F.; Kozyrev, A. B.

    2012-06-01

    The electrophysical properties of bulk ceramics based on Ba x Sr1 - x TiO3 solid solutions with a Mg-containing additive and planar variconds based on ferroelectric films obtained by the ion-plasma sputtering of targets with different elemental compositions are studied. Controllability n( U) = C(0)/ C( U) and the dielectric loss tangent (tanδ) of ferroelectric variconds are measured as functions of the elemental composition of the ferroelectric. The figure of merit of the variconds is estimated, and the film composition providing the best electrophysical parameters is determined.

  6. Enhancement of the saturation mobility in a ferroelectric-gated field-effect transistor by the surface planarization of ferroelectric film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Woo Young, E-mail: semigumi@kaist.ac.kr [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 373-1, Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Gwang-Jae; Kang, In-Ku; Shim, Hyun Bin; Lee, Hee Chul [Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 373-1, Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-09-30

    Ferroelectricity refers to the property of a dielectric material to undergo spontaneous polarization which originates from the crystalline phase. Hence, ferroelectric materials have a certain degree of surface roughness when they are formed as a thin film. A high degree of surface roughness may cause unintended phenomena when the ferroelectric material is used in electronic devices. Specifically, the quality of subsequently deposited film could be affected by the rough surface. The present study reports that the surface roughness of ferroelectric polymer film can be reduced by a double-spin-coating method of a solution, with control of the solubility of the solution. At an identical thickness of 350 nm, double-spin-coated ferroelectric film has a root-mean-square roughness of only 3 nm, while for single-spin-coated ferroelectric film this value is approximately 16 nm. A ferroelectric-gated field-effect transistor was fabricated using the proposed double-spin-coating method, showing a maximum saturation mobility as much as seven-fold than that of a transistor fabricated with single-spin-coated ferroelectric film. The enhanced saturation mobility could be explained by the Poole–Frenkel conduction mechanism. The proposed method to reduce the surface roughness of ferroelectric film would be useful for high performance organic electronic devices, including crystalline-phase dielectric film. - Highlights: • Single and double-layer solution-processed polymer ferroelectric films were obtained. • Adjusting the solvent solubility allows making double-layer ferroelectric (DF) films. • The DF film has a smoother surface than single-layer ferroelectric (SF) film. • DF-gated transistor has faster saturation mobility than SF-based transistor. • Solvent solubility adjustment led to higher performance organic devices.

  7. Effect of (Cd:ZnS Particle Concentration and Photoexcitation on the Electrical and Ferroelectric Properties of (Cd:ZnS/P(VDF-TrFE Composite Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Engel

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The influence of semiconductor particle concentration and photoexcitation on the electrical and ferroelectric properties of ferroelectric-semiconductor-composites was investigated. For this purpose, 32 µm thin films of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene with (Cd:ZnS particle concentrations of between 0 and 20 vol % were fabricated and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy. It was shown that the particle concentration has only a negligible influence on the molecular structure of the polymer but strongly determines the optical properties of the composite. For (Cd:ZnS particle concentrations below 20 vol %, the I-V characteristics of the composites is only marginally affected by the particle concentration and the optical excitation of the composite material. On the contrary, a strong influence of both parameters on the ferro- and pyroelectric properties of the composite films was observed. For particle fractions that exhibit ferroelectric hysteresis, an increased remanent polarization and pyroelectric coefficient due to optical excitation was obtained. A theoretical approach that is based on a “three phase model” of the internal structure was developed to explain the observed results.

  8. Dynamic pyroelectric response of composite based on ferroelectric copolymer of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) and ferroelectric ceramics of barium lead zirconate titanate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solnyshkin, A.V. [Tver State University, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Tver (Russian Federation); National Research University ' ' MIET' ' , Department of Intellectual Technical Systems, Zelenograd, Moscow (Russian Federation); Morsakov, I.M.; Bogomolov, A.A. [Tver State University, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Tver (Russian Federation); Belov, A.N.; Vorobiev, M.I.; Shevyakov, V.I.; Silibin, M.V. [National Research University ' ' MIET' ' , Department of Intellectual Technical Systems, Zelenograd, Moscow (Russian Federation); Shvartsman, V.V. [University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Materials Science, Essen (Germany)

    2015-10-15

    In this work, pyroelectric properties of composite films on the basis of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer with a various level of ferroelectric ceramics inclusions of barium lead zirconate titanate solid solution were investigated by the dynamic method. The composite films were prepared by the solvent cast method. The unusual spike-like dynamic response with a quasi-stationary component was observed. It is supposed that composite films may be effectively used for pyroelectric applications. (orig.)

  9. Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric characterization of PZT thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Araújo E.B.

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work ferroelectric thin films of PZT were prepared by the oxide precursor method, deposited on Pt/Si substrate. Films of 0.5 mm average thickness were obtained. Electrical and ferroelectric characterization were carried out in these films. The measured value of the dielectric constant for films was 455. Ferroelectricity was confirmed by Capacitance-Voltage (C-V characteristics and P-E hysteresis loops. Remanent polarization for films presented value around 5.0 µC/cm2 and a coercive field of 88.8 kV/cm.

  10. Stress effects in ferroelectric perovskite thin-films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zednik, Ricardo Johann

    The exciting class of ferroelectric materials presents the engineer with an array of unique properties that offer promise in a variety of applications; these applications include infra-red detectors ("night-vision imaging", pyroelectricity), micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS, piezoelectricity), and non-volatile memory (NVM, ferroelectricity). Realizing these modern devices often requires perovskite-based ferroelectric films thinner than 100 nm. Two such technologically important material systems are (Ba,Sr)TiO3 (BST), for tunable dielectric devices employed in wireless communications, and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT), for ferroelectric non-volatile memory (FeRAM). In general, the material behavior is strongly influenced by the mechanical boundary conditions imposed by the substrate and surrounding layers and may vary considerably from the known bulk behavior. A better mechanistic understanding of these effects is essential for harnessing the full potential of ferroelectric thin-films and further optimizing existing devices. Both materials share a common crystal structure and similar properties, but face unique challenges due to the design parameters of these different applications. Tunable devices often require very low dielectric loss as well as large dielectric tunability. Present results show that the dielectric response of BST thin-films can either resemble a dipole-relaxor or follow the accepted empirical Universal Relaxation Law (Curie-von Schweidler), depending on temperature. These behaviors in a single ferroelectric thin-film system are often thought to be mutually exclusive. In state-of-the-art high density FeRAM, the ferroelectric polarization is at least as important as the dielectric response. It was found that these properties are significantly affected by moderate biaxial tensile and compressive stresses which reversibly alter the ferroelastic domain populations of PZT at room temperature. The 90-degree domain wall motion observed by high resolution

  11. Depolarization corrections to the coercive field in thin-film ferroelectrics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawber, M; Chandra, P; Littlewood, P B; Scott, J F

    2003-01-01

    Empirically, the coercive field needed to reverse the polarization in a ferroelectric increases with decreasing film thickness. For ferroelectric films of 100 μm to 100 nm in thickness the coercive field has been successfully described by a semi-empirical scaling law. Accounting for depolarization corrections, we show that this scaling behaviour is consistent with field measurements of ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors down to one nanometre in film thickness. Our results also indicate that the minimum film thickness, determined by a polarization instability, can be tuned by the choice of electrodes, and recommendations for next-generation ferroelectric devices are discussed. (letter to the editor)

  12. Depolarization corrections to the coercive field in thin-film ferroelectrics

    CERN Document Server

    Dawber, M; Littlewood, P B; Scott, J F

    2003-01-01

    Empirically, the coercive field needed to reverse the polarization in a ferroelectric increases with decreasing film thickness. For ferroelectric films of 100 mu m to 100 nm in thickness the coercive field has been successfully described by a semi-empirical scaling law. Accounting for depolarization corrections, we show that this scaling behaviour is consistent with field measurements of ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors down to one nanometre in film thickness. Our results also indicate that the minimum film thickness, determined by a polarization instability, can be tuned by the choice of electrodes, and recommendations for next-generation ferroelectric devices are discussed. (letter to the editor)

  13. Removable polytetrafluoroethylene template based epitaxy of ferroelectric copolymer thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Wei; Chen, Qiusong; Zhang, Jian; Wang, Hui; Cheng, Qian; Jiang, Yulong; Zhu, Guodong

    2018-04-01

    In recent years ferroelectric polymers have shown their great potentials in organic and flexible electronics. To meet the requirements of high-performance and low energy consumption of novel electronic devices and systems, structural and electrical properties of ferroelectric polymer thin films are expected to be further optimized. One possible way is to realize epitaxial growth of ferroelectric thin films via removable high-ordered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) templates. Here two key parameters in epitaxy process, annealing temperature and applied pressure, are systematically studied and thus optimized through structural and electrical measurements of ferroelectric copolymer thin films. Experimental results indicate that controlled epitaxial growth is realized via suitable combination of both parameters. Annealing temperature above the melting point of ferroelectric copolymer films is required, and simultaneously moderate pressure (around 2.0 MPa here) should be applied. Over-low pressure (around 1.0 MPa here) usually results in the failure of epitaxy process, while over-high pressure (around 3.0 MPa here) often results in residual of PTFE templates on ferroelectric thin films.

  14. On bistable states retention in ferroelectric Langmuir-Blodgett films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geivandov, A. R.; Palto, S. P.; Yudin, S. G.; Fridkin, V. M.; Blinov, L. M.; Ducharme, S.

    2003-08-01

    A new insight into the nature of ferroelectricity is emerging from the study of ultra-thin ferroelectric films prepared of poly(vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene) copolymer using Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. Unique properties of these films indicate the existence of two-dimensional ferroelectricity. The retention of two polarized states in ferroelectric polymer LB films is studied using nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy. The technique is based on phase sensitive measurements of nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy. The amplitude of the current response at the 2nd harmonic of the applied voltage is proportional to the magnitude of the remnant polarization, while its phase gives the sign. We have found that 10 - 20 mm thick LB films can show fast switching time and long retention of the two polarized states. Nevertheless, LB films show a pronounced asymmetry in switching to the opposite states. Possible mechanisms of such behavior are discussed.

  15. Magnetic enhancement of ferroelectric polarization in a self-grown ferroelectric-ferromagnetic composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Amit; Narayan, Bastola; Pachat, Rohit; Ranjan, Rajeev

    2018-02-01

    Ferroelectric-ferromagnetic multiferroic composites are of great interest both from the scientific and technological standpoints. The extent of coupling between polarization and magnetization in such two-phase systems depends on how efficiently the magnetostrictive and electrostrictive/piezoelectric strain gets transferred from one phase to the other. This challenge is most profound in the easy to make 0-3 ferroelectric-ferromagnetic particulate composites. Here we report a self-grown ferroelectric-ferromagnetic 0-3 particulate composite through controlled spontaneous precipitation of ferrimagnetic barium hexaferrite phase (BaF e12O19 ) amid ferroelectric grains in the multiferroic alloy system BiFe O3-BaTi O3 . We demonstrate that a composite specimen exhibiting merely ˜1% hexaferrite phase exhibits ˜34% increase in saturation polarization in a dc magnetic field of ˜10 kOe. Using modified Rayleigh analysis of the polarization field loop in the subcoercive field region we argue that the substantial enhancement in the ferroelectric switching is associated with the reduction in the barrier heights of the pinning centers of the ferroelectric-ferroelastic domain walls in the stress field generated by magnetostriction in the hexaferrite grains when the magnetic field is turned on. Our study proves that controlled precipitation of the magnetic phase is a good strategy for synthesis of 0-3 ferroelectric-ferromagnetic particulate multiferroic composite as it not only helps in ensuring a good electrical insulating character of the composite, enabling it to sustain high enough electric field for ferroelectric switching, but also the factors associated with the spontaneity of the precipitation process ensure efficient transfer of the magnetostrictive strain/stress to the surrounding ferroelectric matrix making domain wall motion easy.

  16. Supercapacitors: Ferroelectric Polymer-Ceramic Nanoparticle Composite Films for Use in the Capacitive Storage of Electrical Energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, Dana; Pierce, Andrew; Porter, Tim; Dillingham, Randy; Cornelison, David

    2010-03-01

    Most new alternative energy solutions including wind and solar power, will require short term energy storage for widespread implementation. One means of storage would be the use of capacitors owing to their rapid delivery of power and longevity compared to chemical batteries. Capacitor materials exhibiting high dielectric permittivity and breakdown strength, as well as light weight and environmental safety are most desirable. Recently, new classes of capacitor dielectric materials, consisting of ferroelectric polymer matrices containing ceramic nanoparticles have attracted renewed interest due to their high potential energy storage, charge and discharge properties and lightweight. In this study, polyvinylidene flouride (PVDF) thin films containing nanoparticles of the ceramic titanium dioxide created using a physical vapor deposition process, are analyzed for use as dielectrics for a supercapacitor. Measured results of the film parameters including dielectric properties and breakdown voltages will be presented. These parameters will be analyzed with respect to film characteristics such as, dispersion of the ceramic particles, thickness of the films and composition ratios.

  17. Chemical composition and deformation-induced stresses in ferroelectric films of barium-strontium titanate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karmanenko, S.F.; Dedyk, A.I.; Isakov, N.N.; Sakharov, V.I.; Semenov, A.A.; Serenkov, I.T.; Ter-Martirosyan, L.T.

    1999-01-01

    Influence of the ratio of cationic components and inner deformation-induced stresses on critical temperature (T c ) and dielectric characteristics of ferroelectric films Ba x Sr 1-x TiO 3 grown on α-Al 2 O 3 [1012] and LaAlO 3 substrates was studied. Diagnosis by means of ion backscattering permitted ascertaining the deficiency of barium in the films near the surface layer, as well as differences in their structural quality [ru

  18. Dielectric properties of composite based on ferroelectric copolymer of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene and ferroelectric ceramics of barium lead zirconate titanate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Solnyshkin

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available A study of dielectric properties of composite films on the base of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer P(VDF-TrFE and ferroelectric ceramics of barium lead zirconate titanate (BPZT solid solution is presented in this work. The composite films containing up to 50 vol.% of BPZT grains with size ∼1μm were prepared by the solvent cast method. Frequency dependences of real and imaginary components of the complex permittivity were determined. The concentration dependence of the dielectric constant was discussed.

  19. Theoretical Methods of Domain Structures in Ultrathin Ferroelectric Films: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianyi Liu

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This review covers methods and recent developments of the theoretical study of domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films. The review begins with an introduction to some basic concepts and theories (e.g., polarization and its modern theory, ferroelectric phase transition, domain formation, and finite size effects, etc. that are relevant to the study of domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films. Basic techniques and recent progress of a variety of important approaches for domain structure simulation, including first-principles calculation, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo simulation, effective Hamiltonian approach and phase field modeling, as well as multiscale simulation are then elaborated. For each approach, its important features and relative merits over other approaches for modeling domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films are discussed. Finally, we review recent theoretical studies on some important issues of domain structures in ultrathin ferroelectric films, with an emphasis on the effects of interfacial electrostatics, boundary conditions and external loads.

  20. Effect of extrapolation length on the phase transformation of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Z.S.; Tang, M.H.; Wang, J.B.; Zheng, X.J.; Zhou, Y.C.

    2008-01-01

    Effects of extrapolation length on the phase transformation of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films on dissimilar cubic substrates have been studied on the basis of the mean-field Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) thermodynamic theory by taking an uneven distribution of the interior stress with thickness into account. It was found that the polarization of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films is strongly dependent on the extrapolation length of films. The physical origin of the extrapolation length during the phase transformation from paraelectric to ferroelectric was revealed in the case of ferroelectric thin films

  1. Room temperature ferroelectricity in continuous croconic acid thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Xuanyuan; Lu, Haidong; Yin, Yuewei; Ahmadi, Zahra; Costa, Paulo S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 (United States); Zhang, Xiaozhe [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 (United States); Department of Physics, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Wang, Xiao; Yu, Le; Cheng, Xuemei [Department of Physics, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010 (United States); DiChiara, Anthony D. [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Gruverman, Alexei, E-mail: alexei-gruverman@unl.edu, E-mail: a.enders@me.com, E-mail: xiaoshan.xu@unl.edu; Enders, Axel, E-mail: alexei-gruverman@unl.edu, E-mail: a.enders@me.com, E-mail: xiaoshan.xu@unl.edu; Xu, Xiaoshan, E-mail: alexei-gruverman@unl.edu, E-mail: a.enders@me.com, E-mail: xiaoshan.xu@unl.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 (United States); Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 (United States)

    2016-09-05

    Ferroelectricity at room temperature has been demonstrated in nanometer-thin quasi 2D croconic acid thin films, by the polarization hysteresis loop measurements in macroscopic capacitor geometry, along with observation and manipulation of the nanoscale domain structure by piezoresponse force microscopy. The fabrication of continuous thin films of the hydrogen-bonded croconic acid was achieved by the suppression of the thermal decomposition using low evaporation temperatures in high vacuum, combined with growth conditions far from thermal equilibrium. For nominal coverages ≥20 nm, quasi 2D and polycrystalline films, with an average grain size of 50–100 nm and 3.5 nm roughness, can be obtained. Spontaneous ferroelectric domain structures of the thin films have been observed and appear to correlate with the grain patterns. The application of this solvent-free growth protocol may be a key to the development of flexible organic ferroelectric thin films for electronic applications.

  2. Functional Properties of Polydomain Ferroelectric Oxide Thin Films

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Houwman, Evert Pieter; Vergeer, Kurt; Koster, Gertjan; Rijnders, Augustinus J.H.M.; Nishikawa, H.; Iwata, N.; Endo, T.; Takamura, Y.; Lee, G-H.; Mele, P.

    2017-01-01

    The properties of a ferroelectric, (001)-oriented, thin film clamped to a substrate are investigated analytically and numerically. The emphasis is on the tetragonal, polydomain, ferroelectric phase, using a three domain structure, as is observed experimentally, instead of the two-domain structure

  3. Characterization of the effective electrostriction coefficients in ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kholkin, A. L.; Akdogan, E. K.; Safari, A.; Chauvy, P.-F.; Setter, N.

    2001-06-01

    Electromechanical properties of a number of ferroelectric films including PbZrxTi1-xO3(PZT), 0.9PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.1PbTiO3(PMN-PT), and SrBi2Ta2O9(SBT) are investigated using laser interferometry combined with conventional dielectric measurements. Effective electrostriction coefficients of the films, Qeff, are determined using a linearized electrostriction equation that couples longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient, d33, with the polarization and dielectric constant. It is shown that, in PZT films, electrostriction coefficients slightly increase with applied electric field, reflecting the weak contribution of non-180° domains to piezoelectric properties. In contrast, in PMN-PT and SBT films electrostriction coefficients are field independent, indicating the intrinsic nature of the piezoelectric response. The experimental values of Qeff are significantly smaller than those of corresponding bulk materials due to substrate clamping and possible size effects. Electrostriction coefficients of PZT layers are shown to depend strongly on the composition and preferred orientation of the grains. In particular, Qeff of (100) textured rhombohedral films (x=0.7) is significantly greater than that of (111) layers. Thus large anisotropy of the electrostrictive coefficients is responsible for recently observed large piezoelectric coefficients of (100) textured PZT films. Effective electrostriction coefficients obtained by laser interferometry allow evaluation of the electromechanical properties of ferroelectric films based solely on the dielectric parameters and thus are very useful in the design and fabrication of microsensors and microactuators.

  4. Vacuum-evaporated ferroelectric films and heterostructures of vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene copolymer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Draginda, Yu. A., E-mail: lbf@ns.crys.ras.ru; Yudin, S G; Lazarev, V V; Yablonskii, S V; Palto, S P [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation)

    2012-05-15

    The potential of the vacuum method for preparing ferroelectric films and photonic heterostructures from organic materials is studied. Vacuum-evaporated films of fluoropolymers and heterostructures on their basis are obtained and their ferroelectric and spectral properties are studied. In particular, homogeneous films of the well-known piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride and ferroelectric material vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene copolymer (P(VDF/TFE)) are produced. Experimental studies of vacuum-evaporated P(VDF/TFE) films confirmed their ferroelectric properties. The heterostructures composed of alternating layers of P(VDF/TFE) copolymer molecules and azodye molecules are fabricated by vacuum evaporation. Owing to the controlled layer thickness and a significant difference in the refractive indices of the P(VDF/TFE) copolymer and azodyes, these heterostructures exhibit properties of photonic crystals. This finding is confirmed by the occurrence of a photonic band in the absorption spectra of the heterostructures.

  5. Ferroelectricity and Piezoelectricity in Free-Standing Polycrystalline Films of Plastic Crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, Jun; Yoneyama, Naho; Yokokura, Seiya; Takahashi, Yukihiro; Miura, Atsushi; Kitamura, Noboru; Inabe, Tamotsu

    2018-01-10

    Plastic crystals represent a unique compound class that is often encountered in molecules with globular structures. The highly symmetric cubic crystal structure of plastic crystals endows these materials with multiaxial ferroelectricity that allows a three-dimensional realignment of the polarization axes of the crystals, which cannot be achieved using conventional molecular ferroelectric crystals with low crystal symmetry. In this work, we focused our attention on malleability as another characteristic feature of plastic crystals. We have synthesized the new plastic/ferroelectric ionic crystals tetramethylammonium tetrachloroferrate(III) and tetramethylammonium bromotrichloroferrate(III), and discovered that free-standing translucent films can be easily prepared by pressing powdered samples of these compounds. The thus obtained polycrystalline films exhibit ferroelectric polarization switching and a relatively large piezoelectric response at room temperature. The ready availability of functional films demonstrates the practical utility of such plastic/ferroelectric crystals, and considering the vast variety of possible constituent cations and anions, a wide range of applications should be expected for these unique and attractive functional materials.

  6. Domain switching of fatigued ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tak Lim, Yun; Yeog Son, Jong; Shin, Young-Han

    2014-05-01

    We investigate the domain wall speed of a ferroelectric PbZr0.48Ti0.52O3 (PZT) thin film using an atomic force microscope incorporated with a mercury-probe system to control the degree of electrical fatigue. The depolarization field in the PZT thin film decreases with increasing the degree of electrical fatigue. We find that the wide-range activation field previously reported in ferroelectric domains result from the change of the depolarization field caused by the electrical fatigue. Domain wall speed exhibits universal behavior to the effective electric field (defined by an applied electric field minus the depolarization field), regardless of the degree of the electrical fatigue.

  7. Domain switching of fatigued ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tak Lim, Yun; Yeog Son, Jong; Shin, Young-Han

    2014-01-01

    We investigate the domain wall speed of a ferroelectric PbZr 0.48 Ti 0.52 O 3 (PZT) thin film using an atomic force microscope incorporated with a mercury-probe system to control the degree of electrical fatigue. The depolarization field in the PZT thin film decreases with increasing the degree of electrical fatigue. We find that the wide-range activation field previously reported in ferroelectric domains result from the change of the depolarization field caused by the electrical fatigue. Domain wall speed exhibits universal behavior to the effective electric field (defined by an applied electric field minus the depolarization field), regardless of the degree of the electrical fatigue

  8. Electrical characterisation of ferroelectric field effect transistors based on ferroelectric HfO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yurchuk, Ekaterina

    2015-01-01

    Ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) memories based on a new type of ferroelectric material (silicon doped hafnium oxide) were studied within the scope of the present work. Utilisation of silicon doped hafnium oxide (Si:HfO 2 ) thin films instead of conventional perovskite ferroelectrics as a functional layer in FeFETs provides compatibility to the CMOS process as well as improved device scalability. The influence of different process parameters on the properties of Si:HfO 2 thin films was analysed in order to gain better insight into the occurrence of ferroelectricity in this system. A subsequent examination of the potential of this material as well as its possible limitations with the respect to the application in non-volatile memories followed. The Si:HfO 2 -based ferroelectric transistors that were fully integrated into the state-of-the-art high-k metal gate CMOS technology were studied in this work for the first time. The memory performance of these devices scaled down to 28 nm gate length was investigated. Special attention was paid to the charge trapping phenomenon shown to significantly affect the device behaviour.

  9. Temperature dependence of electronic transport property in ferroelectric polymer films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, X.L.; Wang, J.L., E-mail: jlwang@mail.sitp.ac.cn; Tian, B.B.; Liu, B.L.; Zou, Y.H.; Wang, X.D.; Sun, S.; Sun, J.L., E-mail: jlsun@mail.sitp.ac.cn; Meng, X.J.; Chu, J.H.

    2014-10-15

    Highlights: • The ferroelectric polymer was fabricated by Langmuir–Blodgett method. • The electrons as the dominant injected carrier were conformed in the ferroelectric polymer films. • The leakage current conduction mechanisms in ferroelectric polymer were investigated. - Abstract: The leakage current mechanism of ferroelectric copolymer of polyvinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene prepared by Langmuir–Blodgett was investigated in the temperature range from 100 K to 350 K. The electron as the dominant injected carrier was observed in the ferroelectric copolymer films. The transport mechanisms in copolymer strongly depend on the temperature and applied voltage. From 100 K to 200 K, Schottky emission dominates the conduction. With temperature increasing, the Frenkel–Poole emission instead of the Schottky emission to conduct the carrier transport. When the temperature gets to 260 K, the leakage current becomes independent of temperature, and the space charge limited current conduction was observed.

  10. Universal ferroelectric switching dynamics of vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer films

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Weijin

    2014-04-24

    In this work, switching dynamics of poly(vinylidene fluoride- trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer films are investigated over unprecedentedly wide ranges of temperature and electric field. Remarkably, domain switching of copolymer films obeys well the classical domain nucleation and growth model although the origin of ferroelectricity in organic ferroelectric materials inherently differs from the inorganic counterparts. A lower coercivity limit of 50 ...MV/m and 180 domain wall energy of 60 ...mJ/m 2 are determined for P(VDF-TrFE) films. Furthermore, we discover in copolymer films an anomalous temperature-dependent crossover behavior between two power-law scaling regimes of frequency-dependent coercivity, which is attributed to the transition between flow and creep motions of domain walls. Our observations shed new light on the switching dynamics of semi-crystalline ferroelectric polymers, and such understandings are critical for realizing their reliable applications.

  11. Universal ferroelectric switching dynamics of vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer films

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Weijin; Juo, Deng-Ming; You, Lu; Wang, Junling; Chen, Yi-Chun; Chu, Ying-Hao; Wu, Tao

    2014-01-01

    In this work, switching dynamics of poly(vinylidene fluoride- trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer films are investigated over unprecedentedly wide ranges of temperature and electric field. Remarkably, domain switching of copolymer films obeys well the classical domain nucleation and growth model although the origin of ferroelectricity in organic ferroelectric materials inherently differs from the inorganic counterparts. A lower coercivity limit of 50 ...MV/m and 180 domain wall energy of 60 ...mJ/m 2 are determined for P(VDF-TrFE) films. Furthermore, we discover in copolymer films an anomalous temperature-dependent crossover behavior between two power-law scaling regimes of frequency-dependent coercivity, which is attributed to the transition between flow and creep motions of domain walls. Our observations shed new light on the switching dynamics of semi-crystalline ferroelectric polymers, and such understandings are critical for realizing their reliable applications.

  12. Electrical characterisation of ferroelectric field effect transistors based on ferroelectric HfO{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yurchuk, Ekaterina

    2015-02-06

    Ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) memories based on a new type of ferroelectric material (silicon doped hafnium oxide) were studied within the scope of the present work. Utilisation of silicon doped hafnium oxide (Si:HfO{sub 2}) thin films instead of conventional perovskite ferroelectrics as a functional layer in FeFETs provides compatibility to the CMOS process as well as improved device scalability. The influence of different process parameters on the properties of Si:HfO{sub 2} thin films was analysed in order to gain better insight into the occurrence of ferroelectricity in this system. A subsequent examination of the potential of this material as well as its possible limitations with the respect to the application in non-volatile memories followed. The Si:HfO{sub 2}-based ferroelectric transistors that were fully integrated into the state-of-the-art high-k metal gate CMOS technology were studied in this work for the first time. The memory performance of these devices scaled down to 28 nm gate length was investigated. Special attention was paid to the charge trapping phenomenon shown to significantly affect the device behaviour.

  13. Ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films on Ti substrate fabricated using pulsed-laser deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, J; Jiang, J C; Liu, J; Collins, G; Chen, C L; Lin, B; Giurgiutiu, V; Guo, R Y; Bhalla, A; Meletis, E I

    2010-09-01

    We report on the fabrication of ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films on titanium substrates using pulsed laser deposition and their microstructures and properties. Electron microscopy studies reveal that BaTiO3 films are composed of crystalline assemblage of nanopillars with average cross sections from 100 nm to 200 nm. The BaTiO3 films have good interface structures and strong adhesion with respect to Ti substrates by forming a rutile TiO2 intermediate layer with a gradient microstructure. The room temperature ferroelectric polarization measurements show that the as-deposited BTO films possess nearly the same spontaneous polarization as the bulk BTO ceramics indicating formation of ferroelectric domains in the films. Successful fabrication of such ferroelectric films on Ti has significant importance for the development of new applications such as structural health monitoring spanning from aerospace to civil infrastructure. The work can be extended to integrate other ferroelectric oxide films with various promising properties to monitor the structural health of materials.

  14. Strain-induced structural, magnetic and ferroelectric properties of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2017-07-25

    Jul 25, 2017 ... deposited on the composite film surface by DC sputtering techniques. The magnetic measurements of these composite films were performed using a vibratory sample magnetometer. (VSM). Ferroelectric properties of films were measured using a Precision multiferroic analyser. All measurements were per-.

  15. High temperature phases in PZT ferroelectric films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Deineka, Alexander; Suchaneck, G.; Jastrabík, Lubomír; Gerlach, G.

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 293, - (2003), s. 111-118 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA ČR GP202/02/D078; GA MŠk LN00A015 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : ferroelectric film * phase transition * film profile Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.406, year: 2003

  16. Two-dimensional ferroelectrics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blinov, L M; Fridkin, Vladimir M; Palto, Sergei P [A.V. Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federaion (Russian Federation); Bune, A V; Dowben, P A; Ducharme, Stephen [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Behlen Laboratory of Physics, Center for Materials Research and Analysis, University of Nebraska-Linkoln, Linkoln, NE (United States)

    2000-03-31

    The investigation of the finite-size effect in ferroelectric crystals and films has been limited by the experimental conditions. The smallest demonstrated ferroelectric crystals had a diameter of {approx}200 A and the thinnest ferroelectric films were {approx}200 A thick, macroscopic sizes on an atomic scale. Langmuir-Blodgett deposition of films one monolayer at a time has produced high quality ferroelectric films as thin as 10 A, made from polyvinylidene fluoride and its copolymers. These ultrathin films permitted the ultimate investigation of finite-size effects on the atomic thickness scale. Langmuir-Blodgett films also revealed the fundamental two-dimensional character of ferroelectricity in these materials by demonstrating that there is no so-called critical thickness; films as thin as two monolayers (1 nm) are ferroelectric, with a transition temperature near that of the bulk material. The films exhibit all the main properties of ferroelectricity with a first-order ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition: polarization hysteresis (switching); the jump in spontaneous polarization at the phase transition temperature; thermal hysteresis in the polarization; the increase in the transition temperature with applied field; double hysteresis above the phase transition temperature; and the existence of the ferroelectric critical point. The films also exhibit a new phase transition associated with the two-dimensional layers. (reviews of topical problems)

  17. Ferroelectric properties of composites containing BaTiO3 nanoparticles of various sizes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adam, Jens; Lehnert, Tobias; Klein, Gabi; McMeeking, Robert M

    2014-01-01

    Size effects, including the occurrence of superparaelectric phases associated with small scale, are a significant research topic for ferroelectrics. Relevant phenomena have been explored in detail, e.g. for homogeneous, thin ferroelectric films, but the related effects associated with nanoparticles are usually only inferred from their structural properties. In contrast, this paper describes all the steps and concepts necessary for the direct characterization and quantitative assessment of the ferroelectric properties of as-synthesized and as-received nanoparticles. The method adopted uses electrical polarization measurements on polymer matrix composites containing ferroelectric nanoparticles. It is applied to ten different BaTiO 3 particle types covering a size range from 10 nm to 0.8 μm. The influence of variations of particle characteristics such as tetragonality and dielectric constant is considered based on measurements of these properties. For composites containing different particle types a clearly differing polarization behaviour is found. For decreasing particle size, increasing electric field is required to achieve a given level of polarization. The size dependence of a measure related to the coercive field revealed by this work is qualitatively in line with the state of the knowledge for ferroelectrics having small dimensions. For the first time, such results and size effects are described based on data from experiments on collections of actual nanoparticles. (paper)

  18. Ferroelectric properties of composites containing BaTiO 3 nanoparticles of various sizes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adam, Jens; Lehnert, Tobias; Klein, Gabi; McMeeking, Robert M.

    2014-01-01

    Size effects, including the occurrence of superparaelectric phases associated with small scale, are a significant research topic for ferroelectrics. Relevant phenomena have been explored in detail, e.g. for homogeneous, thin ferroelectric films, but the related effects associated with nanoparticles are usually only inferred from their structural properties. In contrast, this paper describes all the steps and concepts necessary for the direct characterization and quantitative assessment of the ferroelectric properties of as-synthesized and as-received nanoparticles. The method adopted uses electrical polarization measurements on polymer matrix composites containing ferroelectric nanoparticles. It is applied to ten different BaTiO3 particle types covering a size range from 10 nm to 0.8 μm. The influence of variations of particle characteristics such as tetragonality and dielectric constant is considered based on measurements of these properties. For composites containing different particle types a clearly differing polarization behaviour is found. For decreasing particle size, increasing electric field is required to achieve a given level of polarization. The size dependence of a measure related to the coercive field revealed by this work is qualitatively in line with the state of the knowledge for ferroelectrics having small dimensions. For the first time, such results and size effects are described based on data from experiments on collections of actual nanoparticles.

  19. Ferroelectric properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films under ion-beam induced strain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jung-Kun; Nastasi, Michael

    2012-11-01

    The influence of an ion-beam induced biaxial stress on the ferroelectric and dielectric properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) films is investigated using the ion beam process as a novel approach to control external stress. Tensile stress is observed to decrease the polarization, permittivity, and ferroelectric fatigue resistance of the PZT films whose structure is monoclinic. However, a compressive stress increases all of them in monoclinic PZT films. The dependence of the permittivity on stress is found not to follow the phenomenological theory relating external forces to intrinsic properties of ferroelectric materials. Changes in the ferroelectric and dielectric properties indicate that the application of a biaxial stress modulates both extrinsic and intrinsic properties of PZT films. Different degrees of dielectric non-linearity suggests the density and mobility of non-180o domain walls, and the domain switching can be controlled by an applied biaxial stress and thereby influence the ferroelectric and dielectric properties.

  20. High T(sub c) superconductor/ferroelectric heterostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, Daniel F., Jr.

    1994-12-01

    Thin films of the ferroelectric perovskite, Ba(x) Sr(1-x) TiO3 (BST), were deposited on superconducting (100)YBa2Cu3O(x)(YBCO)/ (100)Yttria-stabilized zirconia(YSZ) substrates and (100)Si by ion-beam sputtering. Microstructural and compositional features of the ceramic bilayer were assessed by a combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy. The films were smooth and featureless, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) data indicated that film composition closely matched target composition. XRD analysis showed that films deposited on YBCO substrates were highly c-axis textured, while the films deposited on (100)Si did not exhibit any preferred growth morphology. The superconducting properties of the YBCO substrate layer were maintained throughout the processing stages and, as such, it was demonstrated that ion beam sputtering is a viable method for the deposition of Ferroelectric/YBCO heterostructures.

  1. Development of highly-ordered, ferroelectric inverse opal films using sol gel infiltration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuura, N.; Yang, S.; Sun, P.; Ruda, H. E.

    2005-07-01

    Highly-ordered, ferroelectric, Pb-doped Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3, inverse opal films were fabricated by spin-coating a sol gel precursor into a polystyrene artificial opal template followed by heat treatment. Thin films of the ferroelectric were independently studied and were shown to exhibit good dielectric properties and high refractive indices. The excellent quality of the final inverse opal film using this spin-coating infiltration method was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy images and the good correspondence between optical reflection data and theoretical simulations. Using this method, the structural and material parameters of the final ferroelectric inverse opal film were easily adjusted by template heating and through repeated infiltrations, without changes in the initial template or precursor. Also, crack-free inverse opal thin films were fabricated over areas comparable to that of the initial crack-free polystyrene template (˜100 by 100 μm2).

  2. Morphology-dependent photo-induced polarization recovery in ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, J. Y.; Liu, G.; Sando, D.; Nagarajan, V.; Seidel, J.

    2017-08-01

    We investigate photo-induced ferroelectric domain switching in a series of Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (PZT/LSMO) bilayer thin films with varying surface morphologies by piezoresponse force microscopy under light illumination. We demonstrate that reverse poled ferroelectric regions can be almost fully recovered under laser irradiation of the PZT layer and that the recovery process is dependent on the surface morphology on the nanometer scale. The recovery process is well described by the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi model, and the evolution speed is controlled by light intensity, sample thickness, and initial write voltage. Our findings shed light on optical control of the domain structure in ferroelectric thin films with different surface morphologies.

  3. A thermally robust and thickness independent ferroelectric phase in laminated hafnium zirconium oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Riedel

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Ferroelectric properties in hafnium oxide based thin films have recovered the scaling potential for ferroelectric memories due to their ultra-thin-film- and CMOS-compatibility. However, the variety of physical phenomena connected to ferroelectricity allows a wider range of applications for these materials than ferroelectric memory. Especially mixed HfxZr1-xO2 thin films exhibit a broad compositional range of ferroelectric phase stability and provide the possibility to tailor material properties for multiple applications. Here it is shown that the limited thermal stability and thick-film capability of HfxZr1-xO2 can be overcome by a laminated approach using alumina interlayers.

  4. Enhanced electrical properties in bilayered ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hao; Long, WeiJie; Chen, YaQing; Guo, DongJie

    2013-03-01

    Sr2Bi4Ti5O18 (SBTi) single layered and Sr2Bi4Ti5O18/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 (SBTi/PZT) bilayered thin films have been prepared on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD). The related structural characterizations and electrical properties have been comparatively investigated. X-ray diffraction reveals that both films have crystallized into perovskite phases and scanning electron microscopy shows the sharp interfaces. Both films show well-saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops, however, compared with the single layered SBTi films, the SBTi/PZT bilayered films have significantly increased remnant polarization ( P r) and decreased coercive field ( E c), with the applied field of 260 kV/cm. The measured P r and E c of SBTi and SBTi/PZT films were 7.9 μC/cm2, 88.1 kV/cm and 13.0 μC/cm2, 51.2 kV/cm, respectively. In addition, both films showed good fatigue-free characteristics, the switchable polarization decreased by 9% and 11% of the initial values after 2.2×109 switching cycles for the SBTi single layered films and the SBTi/PZT bilayered films, respectively. Our results may provide some guidelines for further optimization of multilayered ferroelectric thin films.

  5. Piezoelectricity and ferroelectricity of cellular polypropylene electrets films characterized by piezoresponse force microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miao, Hongchen; Sun, Yao; Zhou, Xilong; Li, Yingwei [LTCS and Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Li, Faxin, E-mail: lifaxin@pku.edu.cn [LTCS and Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); HEDPS and Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing (China)

    2014-08-14

    Cellular electrets polymer is a new ferroelectret material exhibiting large piezoelectricity and has attracted considerable attentions in researches and industries. Property characterization is very important for this material and current investigations are mostly on macroscopic properties. In this work, we conduct nanoscale piezoelectric and ferroelectric characterizations of cellular polypropylene (PP) films using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). First, both the single-frequency PFM and dual-frequency resonance-tracking PFM testings were conducted on the cellular PP film. The localized piezoelectric constant d{sub 33} is estimated to be 7–11pC/N by correcting the resonance magnification with quality factor and it is about one order lower than the macroscopic value. Next, using the switching spectroscopy PFM (SS-PFM), we studied polarization switching behavior of the cellular PP films. Results show that it exhibits the typical ferroelectric-like phase hysteresis loops and butterfly-shaped amplitude loops, which is similar to that of a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) ferroelectric polymer film. However, both the phase and amplitude loops of the PP film are intensively asymmetric, which is thought to be caused by the nonzero remnant polarization after poling. Then, the D-E hysteresis loops of both the cellular PP film and PVDF film were measured by using the same wave form as that used in the SS-PFM, and the results show significant differences. Finally, we suggest that the ferroelectric-like behavior of cellular electrets films should be distinguished from that of typical ferroelectrics, both macroscopically and microscopically.

  6. Structural and ferroelectric properties of Sr1−xBaxBi2Nb2O9 thin films obtained by dip-coating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. González-Abreu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the structural and ferroelectric results for Sr1−xBaxBi2Nb2O9(x=0.30; 0.85 thin films, which were obtained by using dip-coating. The solutions containing the desirable ions were prepared from the powders of the previous studied ceramic samples. The films were deposited at room temperature on Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide (FTO substrates and submitted to a heat treatment for crystallization. The films were characterized by using scanning microscopy electronic, energy dispersive spectroscopy and ellipsometry. Hysteresis ferroelectric loops were obtained, at room temperature, by using a Sawyer-Tower circuit at several frequencies. A well-defined grain structure was observed for both compositions. The energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS measurements revealed the presence of the corresponding elements from the chemical composition of the ceramic systems. The band-gap energy was around 3.3eV for both samples. Typical hysteresis loops for normal and relaxor ferroelectrics were obtained for x=0.30 and 0.85, respectively.

  7. Application of Dielectric, Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Thin Film Devices in Mobile Communication and Medical Systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klee, M.; Beelen, D.; Keurl, W.; Kiewitt, R.; Kumar, B.; Mauczok, R.; Reimann, K.; Renders, Ch.; Roest, A.; Roozeboom, F.; Steeneken, P.G.; Tiggelman, M.P.J.; Vanhelmont, F.; Wunnicke, O.; Lok, P.; Neumann, K.; Fraser, J.; Schmitz, G.

    2007-01-01

    Dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films are getting more and more attention for next generation mobile communication and medical systems. Thin film technologies based on dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films enable System-in-Package (SiP) devices, resulting in optimal

  8. Electric and ferroelectric properties of PZT/BLT multilayer films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hyeong-Ho; Lee, Hong-Sub; Park, Hyung-Ho; Hill, Ross H.; Hwang, Yun Taek

    2009-01-01

    The electric and ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate (BLT) multilayer films prepared using photosensitive precursors were characterized. The electric and ferroelectric properties were investigated by studying the effect of the stacking order of four ferroelectric layers of PZT or BLT in 4-PZT, PZT/2-BLT/PZT, BLT/2-PZT/BLT, and 4-BLT multilayer films. The remnant polarization values of the 4-BLT and BLT/2-PZT/BLT multilayer films were 12 and 17 μC/cm 2, respectively. Improved ferroelectric properties of the PZT/BLT multilayer films were obtained by using a PZT intermediate layer. The films which contained a BLT layer on the Pt substrate had improved leakage currents of approximately two orders of magnitude and enhanced fatigue resistances compared to the films with a PZT layer on the Pt substrate. These improvements are due to the reduced number of defects and space charges near the Pt electrodes. The PZT/BLT multilayer films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition (PMOD) possessed enhanced electric and ferroelectric properties, and allow direct patterning to fabricate micro-patterned systems without dry etching.

  9. Electric and ferroelectric properties of PZT/BLT multilayer films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hyeong-Ho; Lee, Hong-Sub; Park, Hyung-Ho; Hill, Ross H.; Hwang, Yun Taek

    2009-01-01

    The electric and ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate (BLT) multilayer films prepared using photosensitive precursors were characterized. The electric and ferroelectric properties were investigated by studying the effect of the stacking order of four ferroelectric layers of PZT or BLT in 4-PZT, PZT/2-BLT/PZT, BLT/2-PZT/BLT, and 4-BLT multilayer films. The remnant polarization values of the 4-BLT and BLT/2-PZT/BLT multilayer films were 12 and 17 μC/cm 2 , respectively. Improved ferroelectric properties of the PZT/BLT multilayer films were obtained by using a PZT intermediate layer. The films which contained a BLT layer on the Pt substrate had improved leakage currents of approximately two orders of magnitude and enhanced fatigue resistances compared to the films with a PZT layer on the Pt substrate. These improvements are due to the reduced number of defects and space charges near the Pt electrodes. The PZT/BLT multilayer films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition (PMOD) possessed enhanced electric and ferroelectric properties, and allow direct patterning to fabricate micro-patterned systems without dry etching.

  10. X-ray diffraction stress analysis of ferroelectric thin films with ideal (h k l) textures considering the piezoelectric coupling effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Huaping; Wu Linzhi; Li Jiquan; Chai Guozhong; Du Shanyi

    2010-01-01

    Ferroelectric thin films present large residual stress and strong texture during preparation, which affect the mechanical, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the thin films. The determination of residual stresses in ferroelectric thin films with different textures is therefore very important. In this paper, an extended crystallite group model to evaluate the residual stresses of ferroelectric thin films using X-ray diffraction is proposed by considering the constitutive equation of orthogonally anisotropic ferroelectric medium. The effects of anisotropy and piezoelectric coupling on residual stresses of ferroelectric thin films are analyzed. X-ray stress factors for ideal (h k l)-textured ferroelectric thin films are obtained. An example of calculating the residual stresses of tetragonal perovskite ferroelectric thin films with (1 1 1) and (1 0 0) textures using the extended model is provided to validate the model.

  11. Impact of symmetry on the ferroelectric properties of CaTiO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biegalski, Michael D.; Qiao, Liang [Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Gu, Yijia; Chen, Long-Qing [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801 (United States); Mehta, Apurva [Stanford Synchrotron Lightsource SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); He, Qian; Borisevich, Albina [Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Takamura, Yayoi, E-mail: ytakamura@ucdavis.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California Davis, Davis, California 95616 (United States)

    2015-04-20

    Epitaxial strain is a powerful tool to induce functional properties such as ferroelectricity in thin films of materials that do not possess ferroelectricity in bulk form. In this work, a ferroelectric state was stabilized in thin films of the incipient ferroelectric, CaTiO{sub 3}, through the careful control of the biaxial strain state and TiO{sub 6} octahedral rotations. Detailed structural characterization was carried out by synchrotron x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. CaTiO{sub 3} films grown on La{sub 0.18}Sr{sub 0.82}Al{sub 0.59}Ta{sub 0.41}O{sub 3} (LSAT) and NdGaO{sub 3} (NGO) substrates experienced a 1.1% biaxial strain state but differed in their octahedral tilt structures. A suppression of the out-of-plane rotations of the TiO{sub 6} octahedral in films grown on LSAT substrates resulted in a robust ferroelectric I4 mm phase with remnant polarization ∼5 μC/cm{sup 2} at 10 K and T{sub c} near 140 K. In contrast, films grown on NGO substrates with significant octahedral tilting showed reduced polarization and T{sub c}. These results highlight the key role played by symmetry in controlling the ferroelectric properties of perovskite oxide thin films.

  12. Tensile strain effect in ferroelectric perovskite oxide thin films on spinel magnesium aluminum oxide substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaolan

    Ferroelectrics are used in FeRAM (Ferroelectric random-access memory). Currently (Pb,Zr)TiO3 is the most common ferroelectric material. To get lead-free and high performance ferroelectric material, we investigated perovskite ferroelectric oxides (Ba,Sr)TiO3 and BiFeO3 films with strain. Compressive strain has been investigated intensively, but the effects of tensile strain on the perovskite films have yet to be explored. We have deposited (Ba,Sr)TiO3, BiFeO3 and related films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and analyzed the films by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), etc. To obtain inherently fully strained films, the selection of the appropriate substrates is crucial. MgAl2O4 matches best with good quality and size, yet the spinel structure has an intrinsic incompatibility to that of perovskite. We introduced a rock-salt structure material (Ni 1-xAlxO1+delta) as a buffer layer to mediate the structural mismatch for (Ba,Sr)TiO3 films. With buffer layer Ni1-xAlxO1+delta, we show that the BST films have high quality crystallization and are coherently epitaxial. AFM images show that the films have smoother surfaces when including the buffer layer, indicating an inherent compatibility between BST-NAO and NAO-MAO. In-plane Ferroelectricity measurement shows double hysteresis loops, indicating an antiferroelectric-like behavior: pinned ferroelectric domains with antiparallel alignments of polarization. The Curie temperatures of the coherent fully strained BST films are also measured. It is higher than 900°C, at least 800°C higher than that of bulk. The improved Curie temperature makes the use of BST as FeRAM feasible. We found that the special behaviors of ferroelectricity including hysteresis loop and Curie temperature are due to inherent fully tensile strain. This might be a clue of physics inside ferroelectric stain engineering. An out-of-plane ferroelectricity measurement would provide a full whole story of the tensile strain. However, a

  13. Catalytic behaviors of ruthenium dioxide films deposited on ferroelectrics substrates, by spin coating process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khachane, M.; Nowakowski, P.; Villain, S.; Gavarri, J.R.; Muller, Ch.; Elaatmani, M.; Outzourhite, A.; Luk'yanchuk, I.; Zegzouti, A.; Daoud, M.

    2007-01-01

    Catalytic ruthenium dioxide films were deposited by spin-coating process on ferroelectric films mainly constituted of SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT) and Ba 2 NaNb 5 O 15 (BNN) phases. After thermal treatment under air, these ferroelectric-catalytic systems were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images showed that RuO 2 film morphology depended on substrate nature. A study of CH 4 conversion into CO 2 and H 2 O was carried out using these catalytic-ferroelectric multilayers: the conversion was analyzed from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, at various temperatures. Improved catalytic properties were observed for RuO 2 films deposited on BNN oxide layer

  14. The Rayleigh law in silicon doped hafnium oxide ferroelectric thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guan, Yan; Liu, Xiaohua [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion, and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian (China); Zhou, Dayu [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion, and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian (China); State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu (China); Xu, Jin [Department of Electronic Engineering, Dalian Neusoft University of Information, Dalian (China); Cao, Fei; Dong, Xianlin [Key Laboratory of Inorganic Functional Materials and Devices, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai (China); Mueller, Johannes [Fraunhofer IPMS-CNT, Dresden (Germany); Schenk, Tony; Schroeder, Uwe [NaMLab gGmbH/TU Dresden (Germany)

    2015-10-15

    A wealth of studies have confirmed that the low-field hysteresis behaviour of ferroelectric bulk ceramics and thin films can be described using Rayleigh relations, and irreversible domain wall motion across the array of pining defects has been commonly accepted as the underlying micro-mechanism. Recently, HfO{sub 2} thin films incorporated with various dopants were reported to show pronounced ferroelectricity, however, their microscopic domain structure remains unclear till now. In this work, the effects of the applied electric field amplitude, frequency and temperature on the sub-coercive polarization reversal properties were investigated for 10 nm thick Si-doped HfO{sub 2} thin films. The applicability of the Rayleigh law to ultra-thin ferroelectric films was first confirmed, indicating the existence of a multi-domain structure. Since the grain size is about 20-30 nm, a direct observation of domain walls within the grains is rather challenging and this indirect method is a feasible approach to resolve the domain structure. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  15. The Rayleigh law in silicon doped hafnium oxide ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guan, Yan; Liu, Xiaohua; Zhou, Dayu; Xu, Jin; Cao, Fei; Dong, Xianlin; Mueller, Johannes; Schenk, Tony; Schroeder, Uwe

    2015-01-01

    A wealth of studies have confirmed that the low-field hysteresis behaviour of ferroelectric bulk ceramics and thin films can be described using Rayleigh relations, and irreversible domain wall motion across the array of pining defects has been commonly accepted as the underlying micro-mechanism. Recently, HfO 2 thin films incorporated with various dopants were reported to show pronounced ferroelectricity, however, their microscopic domain structure remains unclear till now. In this work, the effects of the applied electric field amplitude, frequency and temperature on the sub-coercive polarization reversal properties were investigated for 10 nm thick Si-doped HfO 2 thin films. The applicability of the Rayleigh law to ultra-thin ferroelectric films was first confirmed, indicating the existence of a multi-domain structure. Since the grain size is about 20-30 nm, a direct observation of domain walls within the grains is rather challenging and this indirect method is a feasible approach to resolve the domain structure. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  16. Electrical characterization of thin film ferroelectric capacitors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tiggelman, M.P.J.; Reimann, K.; Klee, M.; Beelen, D.; Keur, W.; Schmitz, Jurriaan; Hueting, Raymond Josephus Engelbart

    2006-01-01

    Tunable capacitors can be used to facilitate the reduction of components in wireless technologies. The tunability of the capacitors is caused by the sensitivity of the relative dielectric constant to a change in polarization with electric field. Thin film ferroelectric MIM capacitors on silicon

  17. Determination of the Steady State Leakage Current in Structures with Ferroelectric Ceramic Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podgornyi, Yu. V.; Vorotilov, K. A.; Sigov, A. S.

    2018-03-01

    Steady state leakage currents have been investigated in capacitor structures with ferroelectric solgel films of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) formed on silicon substrates with a lower Pt electrode. It is established that Pt/PZT/Hg structures, regardless of the PZT film thickness, are characterized by the presence of a rectifying contact similar to p-n junction. The steady state leakage current in the forward direction increases with a decrease in the film thickness and is determined by the ferroelectric bulk conductivity.

  18. Analysis and Optimization of Thin Film Ferroelectric Phase Shifters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanofsky, Robert R.; VanKeuls, Fred W.; Warner, Joseph D.; Mueller, Carl H.; Alterovitz, Samuel A.; Miranda, Felix A.; Qureshi, A. Haq; Romanofsky, Robert R. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    Microwave phase shifters have been fabricated from (YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) or Au)/SrTiO3 and Au/Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 films on LaAlO3 and MgO substrates. These coupled microstrip devices rival the performance of their semiconductor counter-parts parts at Ku- and K-band frequencies. Typical insertion loss for room temperature ferroelectric phase shifters at K-band is approximately equal 5 dB. An experimental and theoretical investigation of these novel devices explains the role of the ferroelectric film in overall device performance. A roadmap to the development of a 3 dB insertion loss phase shifter that would enable a new type of phased array antenna is discussed.

  19. Synchrotron X-ray studies of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films and nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klug, Jeffrey A.

    The study of ferroelectric thin films is a field of considerable scientific and technological interest. In this dissertation synchrotron x-ray techniques were applied to examine the effects of lateral confinement and epitaxial strain in ferroelectric thin films and nanostructures. Three materials systems were investigated: laterally confined epitaxial BiFeO3 nanostructures on SrTiO3 (001), ultra-thin commensurate SrTiO 3 films on Si (001), and coherently strained films of BaTiO3 on DyScO3 (110). Epitaxial films of BiFeO3 were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on SrRuO3 coated SrTiO 3 (001) substrates. Laterally confined nanostructures were fabricated using focused ion-beam processing and subsequently characterized with focused beam x-ray nanodiffraction measurements with unprecedented spatial resolution. Results from a series of rectangular nanostructures with lateral dimensions between 500 nm and 1 mum and a comparably-sized region of the unpatterned BiFeO3 film revealed qualitatively similar distributions of local strain and lattice rotation with a 2-3 times larger magnitude of variation observed in those of the nanostructures compared to the unpatterned film. This indicates that lateral confinement leads to enhanced variation in the local strain and lattice rotation fields in epitaxial BiFeO3 nanostructures. A commensurate 2 nm thick film of SrTiO3 on Si was characterized by the x-ray standing wave (XSW) technique to determine the Sr and Ti cation positions in the strained unit cell in order to verify strain-induced ferroelectricity in SrTiO3/Si. A Si (004) XSW measurement at 10°C indicated that the average Ti displacement from the midpoint between Sr planes was consistent in magnitude to that predicted by a density functional theory (DFT) calculated ferroelectric structure. The Ti displacement determined from a 35°C measurement better matched a DFT-predicted nonpolar structure. The thin film extension of the XSW technique was employed to

  20. A flexible tactile-feedback touch screen using transparent ferroelectric polymer film vibrators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ju, Woo-Eon; Moon, Yong-Ju; Park, Cheon-Ho; Choi, Seung Tae

    2014-01-01

    To provide tactile feedback on flexible touch screens, transparent relaxor ferroelectric polymer film vibrators were designed and fabricated in this study. The film vibrator can be integrated underneath a transparent cover film or glass, and can also produce acoustic waves that cause a tactile sensation on human fingertips. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)] polymer was used as the relaxor ferroelectric polymer because it produces a large strain under applied electric fields, shows a fast response, and has excellent optical transparency. The natural frequency of this tactile-feedback touch screen was designed to be around 200–240 Hz, at which the haptic perception of human fingertips is the most sensitive; therefore, the resonance of the touch screen at its natural frequency provides maximum haptic sensation. A multilayered relaxor ferroelectric polymer film vibrator was also demonstrated to provide the same vibration power at reduced voltage. The flexible P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) film vibrators developed in this study are expected to provide tactile sensation not only in large-area flat panel displays, but also in flexible displays and touch screens. (papers)

  1. Domain wall conductivity in semiconducting hexagonal ferroelectric TbMnO3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, D J; Gruverman, A; Connell, J G; Seo, S S A

    2016-01-01

    Although enhanced conductivity of ferroelectric domain boundaries has been found in BiFeO 3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 films as well as hexagonal rare-earth manganite single crystals, the mechanism of the domain wall conductivity is still under debate. Using conductive atomic force microscopy, we observe enhanced conductance at the electrically-neutral domain walls in semiconducting hexagonal ferroelectric TbMnO 3 thin films where the structure and polarization direction are strongly constrained along the c-axis. This result indicates that domain wall conductivity in ferroelectric rare-earth manganites is not limited to charged domain walls. We show that the observed conductivity in the TbMnO 3 films is governed by a single conduction mechanism, namely, the back-to-back Schottky diodes tuned by the segregation of defects. (paper)

  2. Tunable band gap in epitaxial ferroelectric Ho(Mn,Ga)O{sub 3} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Daesu; Noh, Tae Won, E-mail: twnoh@snu.ac.kr [Center for Correlated Electron Systems, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Woo Seok [Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-09

    Ferroelectrics have recently attracted attention as a new class of materials for use in optical and photovoltaic devices. We studied the electronic properties in epitaxially stabilized ferroelectric hexagonal Ho(Mn{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})O{sub 3} (x = 0, 0.33, 0.67, and 1) thin films. Our films exhibited systematic changes in electronic structures, such as bandgap and optical transitions, according to the Ga concentration. In particular, the bandgap increased systematically from 1.4 to 3.2 eV, including the visible light region, with increasing Ga concentration from x = 0 to 1. These systematic changes, attributed to lattice parameter variations in epitaxial Ho(Mn{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})O{sub 3} films, should prove useful for the design of optoelectronic devices based on ferroelectrics.

  3. Stacking effect on the ferroelectric properties of PZT/PLZT multilayer thin films formed by photochemical metal-organic deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hyeong-Ho; Park, Hyung-Ho; Hill, Ross H.

    2004-01-01

    The ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) multilayer films formed by photochemical metal-organic deposition (PMOD) using photosensitive precursors have been characterized. The substitution of La for Pb was reported to induce improved ferroelectric properties, especially fatigue resistance, through the reduction of oxygen vacancies. The relation between La-substitution and the ferroelectric properties was investigated by characterization of the effect of the order of stacking four ferroelectric layers of PZT or PLZT in the multilayer films 4-PZT, PZT/2-PLZT/PZT, PLZT/2-PZT/PLZT, and 4-PLZT. The films with the PLZT layer at the top and bottom showed an improvement in the fatigue resistance. It was revealed that defect dipole such as O vacancy was reduced at the ferroelectric/Pt interface by doping with La. Also, the bottom layer, just on Pt substrate had a significant influence on the surface microstructure and growth orientation of ferroelectric film

  4. Hysteresis loop behaviors of ferroelectric thin films:A Monte Carlo simulation study

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    C. M. Bedoya-Hincapi´e; H. H. Ortiz-´Alvarez; E. Restrepo-Parra; J. J. Olaya-Fl´orez; J. E. Alfonso

    2015-01-01

    The ferroelectric response of bismuth titanate Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT) thin film is studied through a Monte Carlo simulation of hysteresis loops. The ferroelectric system is described by using a Diffour Hamiltonian with three terms: the electric field applied in the z direction, the nearest dipole–dipole interaction in the transversal (x–y) direction, and the nearest dipole–dipole interaction in the direction perpendicular to the thin film (the z axis). In the sample construction, we take into consideration the dipole orientations of the monoclinic and orthorhombic structures that can appear in BIT at low temperature in the ferroelectric state. The effects of temperature, stress, and the concentration of pinned dipole defects are assessed by using the hysteresis loops. The results indicate the changes in the hysteresis area with temperature and stress, and the asymmetric hysteresis loops exhibit evidence of the imprint failure mechanism with the emergence of pinned dipolar defects. The simulated shift in the hysteresis loops conforms to the experimental ferroelectric response.

  5. Chemical segregation and self polarisation in ferroelectrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernard E. Watts

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Chemical partitioning or segregation is commonly encountered in solid-state syntheses. It is driven by compositional, thermal and electric field gradients. These phenomena can be quite extreme in thin films and lead to notable effects on the electrical properties of ferroelectrics. The segregation in ferroelectric thin films will be illustrated and the mechanisms explained in terms of diffusion processes driven by a potential gradient of the oxygen. The hypothesis can also explain self polarisation and imprint in ferroelectric hysteresis.

  6. Manipulating the ferroelectric polarization state of BaTiO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Datta, S.; Rioult, M.; Stanescu, D.; Magnan, H.; Barbier, A., E-mail: antoine.barbier@cea.fr

    2016-05-31

    Controlling the ferroelectric polarization at macroscopic or microscopic levels is crucial in the framework of the development of ferroelectric materials used in yet challenging photo-electrochemical (PEC) cells and spintronic applications. We report here on polarization methods allowing to electrically polarize prototypical samples of BaTiO{sub 3} (001) films. Epitaxial single crystalline layers were grown up to a thickness of 25 nm by atomic oxygen assisted molecular beam epitaxy on 1 at.% Nb doped SrTiO{sub 3} (001) single crystals. The samples were both microscopically and macroscopically polarized using Piezoresponse Force Microscopy and electrochemical poling in an electrolyte respectively. In addition we demonstrate the possibility to retrieve a quasi-native mixed ferroelectric polarization state after annealing. These polarization methods may be applied to many other ferroelectric thin films. - Highlights: • Ferroelectricity of BaTiO{sub 3} layers can be micro- and macroscopically controlled. • Microscopic ferroelectric domains are defined with piezoresponse force microscopy. • Poling in a LiClO{sub 4} electrolyte is a macroscopic poling method. • Air annealing above the Curie temperature “resets” the polarization state.

  7. Ferroelectric Phase Diagram of PVDF:PMMA

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Mengyuan; Stingelin, Natalie; Michels, Jasper J.; Spijkman, Mark-Jan; Asadi, Kamal; Feldman, Kirill; Blom, Paul W. M.; de Leeuw, Dago M.

    2012-01-01

    We have investigated the ferroelectric phase diagram of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The binary nonequilibrium temperature composition diagram was determined and melting of alpha- and beta-phase PVDF was identified. Ferroelectric beta-PVDF:PMMA blend films were made by melting, ice quenching, and subsequent annealing above the glass transition temperature of PMMA, close to the melting temperature of PVDF. Addition of PMMA suppresses the crystallizatio...

  8. A general analytical equation for phase diagrams of an N-layer ferroelectric thin film with two surface layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Z X; Teng, B H; Rong, Y H; Lu, X H; Yang, X [School of Physical Electronics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)], E-mail: phytbh@163.com

    2010-03-15

    Within the framework of effective-field theory with correlations, the phase diagrams of an N-layer ferroelectric thin film with two surface layers are studied by the differential operator technique based on the spin-1/2 transverse Ising model. A general analytical equation for the phase diagram of a ferroelectric thin film with arbitrary layer number as well as exchange interactions and transverse fields is derived, and then the effects of exchange interactions and transverse fields on phase diagrams are discussed for an arbitrary layer number N. Meanwhile, the crossover features, from the ferroelectric-dominant phase diagram (FPD) to the paraelectric-dominant phase diagram (PPD), for various parameters of an N-layer ferroelectric thin film with two surface layers are investigated. As a result, an N-independent common intersection point equation is obtained, and the three-dimensional curved surfaces for the crossover values are constructed. In comparison with the usual mean-field approximation, the differential operator technique with correlations reduces to some extent the ferroelectric features of a ferroelectric thin film.

  9. Probing-models for interdigitated electrode systems with ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Cuong H.; Nigon, Robin; Raeder, Trygve M.; Hanke, Ulrik; Halvorsen, Einar; Muralt, Paul

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, a new method to characterize ferroelectric thin films with interdigitated electrodes is presented. To obtain accurate properties, all parasitic contributions should be subtracted from the measurement results and accurate models for the ferroelectric film are required. Hence, we introduce a phenomenological model for the parasitic capacitance. Moreover, two common analytical models based on conformal transformations are compared and used to calculate the capacitance and the electric field. With a thin film approximation, new simplified electric field and capacitance formulas are derived. By using these formulas, more consistent CV, PV and stress-field loops for samples with different geometries are obtained. In addition, an inhomogeneous distribution of the permittivity due to the non-uniform electric field is modelled by finite element simulation in an iterative way. We observed that this inhomogeneous distribution can be treated as a homogeneous one with an effective value of the permittivity.

  10. Superdomain dynamics in ferroelectric-ferroelastic films: Switching, jamming, and relaxation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, J. F.; Hershkovitz, A.; Ivry, Y.; Lu, H.; Gruverman, A.; Gregg, J. M.

    2017-12-01

    Recent experimental work shows that ferroelectric switching can occur in large jumps in which ferroelastic superdomains switch together, rather than having the numerous smaller ferroelectric domains switch within them. In this sense, the superdomains play a role analogous to that of Abrikosov vortices in thin superconducting films under the Kosterlitz-Thouless framework, which control the dynamics more than individual Cooper pairs within them do. Here, we examine the dynamics of ferroelastic superdomains in ferroelastic ferroelectrics and their role in switching devices such as memories. Jamming of ferroelectric domains in thin films has revealed an unexpected time dependence of t-1/4 at long times (hours), but it is difficult to discriminate between power-law and exponential relaxation. Other aspects of this work, including spatial period doubling of domains, led to a description of ferroelastic domains as nonlinear processes in a viscoelastic medium, which produce folding and metastable kinetically limited states. This ¼ exponent is a surprising agreement with the well-known value of ¼ for coarsening dynamics in viscoelastic media. We try to establish a link between these two processes, hitherto considered unrelated, and with superdomains and domain bundles. We note also that high-Tc superconductors share many of the ferroelastic domain properties discussed here and that several new solar cell materials and metal-insulator transition systems are ferroelastic.

  11. The origin of the residual conductivity of GaN films on ferroelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kyoung-Keun; Cai, Zhuhua; Ziemer, Katherine; Doolittle, William Alan

    2009-08-01

    In this paper, the origin of the conductivity of GaN films grown on ferroelectric materials was investigated using XPS, AES, and XRD analysis tools. Depth profiles confirmed the existence of impurities in the GaN film originating from the substrates. Bonding energy analysis from XPS and AES verified that oxygen impurities from the substrates were the dominant origin of the conductivity of the GaN film. Furthermore, Ga-rich GaN films have a greater chance of enhancing diffusion of lithium oxide from the substrates, resulting in more substrate phase separation and a wider inter-mixed region confirmed by XRD. Therefore, the direct GaN film growth on ferroelectric materials causes impurity diffusion from the substrates, resulting in highly conductive GaN films. Future work needs to develop non-conductive buffer layers for impurity suppression in order to obtain highly resistive GaN films.

  12. Characterization of Phase Transitions in PZT Ferroelectric films with spectral Ellipsometry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Deineka, Alexander; Suchaneck, G.; Jastrabík, Lubomír; Gerlach, G.

    11-12, - (2002), s. 377-380 ISSN 0447-6441 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A015; GA ČR GA202/00/1425 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010921 Keywords : ferroelectric film * phase transition * film profile Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers

  13. THIN FILMS OF A NEW ORGANIC SINGLE-COMPONENT FERROELECTRIC 2-METHYLBENZIMIDAZOLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. V. Balashova

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Subject of Research.We present results of structural and dielectric study of organic ferroelectric 2-methylbenzimidazole (MBI thin films. Method. The films have been grown on substrates of leuco-sapphire, fused and crystalline silica, neodymium gallate, bismuth germanate, gold, aluminium, platinum. The films have been grown by two different methods: substrate covering by ethanol solution of MBI and subsequent ethanol evaporation; sublimation at the temperature near 375 K under atmospheric pressure. Crystallographic orientation studies have been performed by means of «DRON-3» X-ray diffractometer, block structure of the films has been determined by «LaboPol-3» polarizing microscope. Small-signal dielectric response has been received with the use of «MIT 9216A» digital LCR-meter, while strong-signal dielectric response has been studied by Sawyer-Tower circuit. Main Resuts. We have shown that the films obtained by evaporation are continuous and textured. Obtained film structure depends on the concentration of the solution. Films may consist of blocks that are splitted crystals like spherulite. Spontaneous polarization components in such films may be directed both perpendicularly and in the film plane. We have also obtained structures consisting of single-crystal blocks with spontaneous polarization components being allocated in the film plane. Block sizes vary from a few to hundreds of microns. Films obtained by sublimation are amorphous or dendritic. The dielectric properties of the films obtained by evaporation have been studied. We have shown that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent increase under heating. The dielectric hysteresis loops are observed at the temperature equal to 291-379 K. The remnant polarization increases with temperature for constant amplitude of the external electric field, and achieves 4.5mC/cm2, while the coercive field remains constant. We propose that such behavior is explained by increase of the

  14. Nanopolar reorientation in ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hubert, C.; Levy, J.; Rivkin, T. V.; Carlson, C.; Parilla, P. A.; Perkins, J. D.; Ginley, D. S.

    2001-01-01

    The influence of varying oxygen pressure P(O 2 ) during the growth of Ba 0.4 Sr 0.6 TiO 3 thin films is investigated using dielectric and local optical probes. A transition from in-plane to out-of-plane ferroelectricity is observed with increasing P(O 2 ). Signatures of in-plane and out-of-plane ferroelectricity are identified using dielectric response and time-resolved confocal scanning optical microscopy (TRCSOM). At the crossover pressure between in-plane and out-of-plane polarization (P c =85 mTorr), TRCSOM measurements reveal a soft, highly dispersive out-of-plane polarization that reorients in plane under modest applied electric fields. At higher deposition pressures, the out-of-plane polarization is hardened and is less dispersive at microwave frequencies, and the dielectric tuning is suppressed. Nanopolar reorientation is believed to be responsible for the marked increase in dielectric tuning at P(O 2 )=P c

  15. TaN interface properties and electric field cycling effects on ferroelectric Si-doped HfO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lomenzo, Patrick D.; Nishida, Toshikazu; Takmeel, Qanit; Zhou, Chuanzhen; Fancher, Chris M.; Jones, Jacob L.; Lambers, Eric; Rudawski, Nicholas G.; Moghaddam, Saeed

    2015-01-01

    Ferroelectric HfO 2 -based thin films, which can exhibit ferroelectric properties down to sub-10 nm thicknesses, are a promising candidate for emerging high density memory technologies. As the ferroelectric thickness continues to shrink, the electrode-ferroelectric interface properties play an increasingly important role. We investigate the TaN interface properties on 10 nm thick Si-doped HfO 2 thin films fabricated in a TaN metal-ferroelectric-metal stack which exhibit highly asymmetric ferroelectric characteristics. To understand the asymmetric behavior of the ferroelectric characteristics of the Si-doped HfO 2 thin films, the chemical interface properties of sputtered TaN bottom and top electrodes are probed with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ta-O bonds at the bottom electrode interface and a significant presence of Hf-N bonds at both electrode interfaces are identified. It is shown that the chemical heterogeneity of the bottom and top electrode interfaces gives rise to an internal electric field, which causes the as-grown ferroelectric domains to preferentially polarize to screen positively charged oxygen vacancies aggregated at the oxidized bottom electrode interface. Electric field cycling is shown to reduce the internal electric field with a concomitant increase in remanent polarization and decrease in relative permittivity. Through an analysis of pulsed transient switching currents, back-switching is observed in Si-doped HfO 2 thin films with pinched hysteresis loops and is shown to be influenced by the internal electric field

  16. Polarization enhancement and ferroelectric switching enabled by interacting magnetic structures in DyMnO3 thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Lu, Chengliang

    2013-12-02

    The mutual controls of ferroelectricity and magnetism are stepping towards practical applications proposed for quite a few promising devices in which multiferroic thin films are involved. Although ferroelectricity stemming from specific spiral spin ordering has been reported in highly distorted bulk perovskite manganites, the existence of magnetically induced ferroelectricity in the corresponding thin films remains an unresolved issue, which unfortunately halts this step. In this work, we report magnetically induced electric polarization and its remarkable response to magnetic field (an enhancement of ?800% upon a field of 2 Tesla at 2 K) in DyMnO3 thin films grown on Nb-SrTiO3 substrates. Accompanying with the large polarization enhancement, the ferroelectric coercivity corresponding to the magnetic chirality switching field is significantly increased. A picture based on coupled multicomponent magnetic structures is proposed to understand these features. Moreover, different magnetic anisotropy related to strain-suppressed GdFeO 3-type distortion and Jahn-Teller effect is identified in the films.

  17. Optical properties of self-polarized PZT ferroelectric films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Deineka, Alexander; Jastrabík, Lubomír; Suchaneck, G.; Gerlach, G.

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 273, - (2002), s. 155-160 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A015; GA ČR GA202/00/1425 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : ferroelectric film * phase transition * band gap Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.408, year: 2002

  18. Ferroelectricity at the nanoscale basics and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Fridkin, Vladimir

    2014-01-01

    This book examines a wide range of ferroelectric materials. It explains the theoretical background of ultrathin ferroelectric films,  presents applications of ferroelectric materials, and displays the mechanism of switching of nanosized ferroelectric films.

  19. Elastic recoil detection analysis of ferroelectric films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stannard, W.B.; Johnston, P.N.; Walker, S.R.; Bubb, I.F. [Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., VIC (Australia); Scott, J.F. [New South Wales Univ., Kensington, NSW (Australia); Cohen, D.D.; Dytlewski, N. [Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW (Australia)

    1996-12-31

    There has been considerable progress in developing SrBi{sub 2}Ta{sub 2}O{sub 9} (SBT) and Ba{sub O.7}Sr{sub O.3}TiO{sub 3} (BST) ferroelectric films for use as nonvolatile memory chips and for capacitors in dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). Ferroelectric materials have a very large dielectric constant ( {approx} 1000), approximately one hundred times greater than that of silicon dioxide. Devices made from these materials have been known to experience breakdown after a repeated voltage pulsing. It has been suggested that this is related to stoichiometric changes within the material. To accurately characterise these materials Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) is being developed. This technique employs a high energy heavy ion beam to eject nuclei from the target and uses a time of flight and energy dispersive (ToF-E) detector telescope to detect these nuclei. The recoil nuclei carry both energy and mass information which enables the determination of separate energy spectra for individual elements or for small groups of elements In this work ERDA employing 77 MeV {sup 127}I ions has been used to analyse Strontium Bismuth Tantalate thin films at the heavy ion recoil facility at ANSTO, Lucas Heights. 9 refs., 5 figs.

  20. Elastic recoil detection analysis of ferroelectric films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stannard, W B; Johnston, P N; Walker, S R; Bubb, I F [Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., VIC (Australia); Scott, J F [New South Wales Univ., Kensington, NSW (Australia); Cohen, D D; Dytlewski, N [Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, NSW (Australia)

    1997-12-31

    There has been considerable progress in developing SrBi{sub 2}Ta{sub 2}O{sub 9} (SBT) and Ba{sub O.7}Sr{sub O.3}TiO{sub 3} (BST) ferroelectric films for use as nonvolatile memory chips and for capacitors in dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). Ferroelectric materials have a very large dielectric constant ( {approx} 1000), approximately one hundred times greater than that of silicon dioxide. Devices made from these materials have been known to experience breakdown after a repeated voltage pulsing. It has been suggested that this is related to stoichiometric changes within the material. To accurately characterise these materials Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) is being developed. This technique employs a high energy heavy ion beam to eject nuclei from the target and uses a time of flight and energy dispersive (ToF-E) detector telescope to detect these nuclei. The recoil nuclei carry both energy and mass information which enables the determination of separate energy spectra for individual elements or for small groups of elements In this work ERDA employing 77 MeV {sup 127}I ions has been used to analyse Strontium Bismuth Tantalate thin films at the heavy ion recoil facility at ANSTO, Lucas Heights. 9 refs., 5 figs.

  1. Dynamics of space and polarization charges of ferroelectric thin films measured by atomic force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Y.J.; Lee, J.H.; Jo, W.

    2006-01-01

    Retention behavior and local hysteresis characteristics in Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) thin films on Pt electrodes have been investigated by electrostatic force microscopy (EFM). A sol-gel method is used to synthesize PZT thin films and drying conditions are carefully explored over a wide range of temperature. Decay and retention mechanisms of single-poled and reverse-poled regions of the ferroelectric thin films are explained by space charge redistribution. Trapping behavior of space charges is dependent on the nature of interface between ferroelectric thin films and bottom electrodes. Local measurement of polarization-electric field curves by EFM shows inhomogeneous space charge entrapment

  2. A theoretical investigation of the influence of the surface effect on the ferroelectric property of strained barium titanate film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Chao; Liu, Wei Hua

    2017-07-01

    The influence of the surface effect on the ferroelectric property of strained barium titanate film has been investigated. In this study, based on time-dependent Ginsburg-Landau-Devonshire thermodynamic theory, the surface effects have been simulated by introducing a surface constant, which leads to the strained BaTiO3 film consisting of inner tetragonal core and gradient lattice strain layer. Further, surface effects produce a depolarization field which has a dominant effect on the ferroelectric properties of the films. The spontaneous polarization, dielectric properties and ferroelectric hysteresis loop of BaTiO3 film are calculated under different boundary conditions. Theoretical and experimental results for strained BaTiO3 film are compared and discussed.

  3. Theoretical model for thin ferroelectric films and the multilayer structures based on them

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Starkov, A. S., E-mail: starkov@iue.tuwien.ac.at; Pakhomov, O. V. [St. Petersburg National Research Univeristy ITMO, Institute of Refrigeration and Biotechnologies (Russian Federation); Starkov, I. A. [Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Microelectronics (Austria)

    2013-06-15

    A modified Weiss mean-field theory is used to study the dependence of the properties of a thin ferroelectric film on its thickness. The possibility of introducing gradient terms into the thermodynamic potential is analyzed using the calculus of variations. An integral equation is introduced to generalize the well-known Langevin equation to the case of the boundaries of a ferroelectric. An analysis of this equation leads to the existence of a transition layer at the interface between ferroelectrics or a ferroelectric and a dielectric. The permittivity of this layer is shown to depend on the electric field direction even if the ferroelectrics in contact are homogeneous. The results obtained in terms of the Weiss model are compared with the results of the models based on the correlation effect and the presence of a dielectric layer at the boundary of a ferroelectric and with experimental data.

  4. Theoretical model for thin ferroelectric films and the multilayer structures based on them

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Starkov, A. S.; Pakhomov, O. V.; Starkov, I. A.

    2013-01-01

    A modified Weiss mean-field theory is used to study the dependence of the properties of a thin ferroelectric film on its thickness. The possibility of introducing gradient terms into the thermodynamic potential is analyzed using the calculus of variations. An integral equation is introduced to generalize the well-known Langevin equation to the case of the boundaries of a ferroelectric. An analysis of this equation leads to the existence of a transition layer at the interface between ferroelectrics or a ferroelectric and a dielectric. The permittivity of this layer is shown to depend on the electric field direction even if the ferroelectrics in contact are homogeneous. The results obtained in terms of the Weiss model are compared with the results of the models based on the correlation effect and the presence of a dielectric layer at the boundary of a ferroelectric and with experimental data

  5. Theoretical model for thin ferroelectric films and the multilayer structures based on them

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starkov, A. S.; Pakhomov, O. V.; Starkov, I. A.

    2013-06-01

    A modified Weiss mean-field theory is used to study the dependence of the properties of a thin ferroelectric film on its thickness. The possibility of introducing gradient terms into the thermodynamic potential is analyzed using the calculus of variations. An integral equation is introduced to generalize the well-known Langevin equation to the case of the boundaries of a ferroelectric. An analysis of this equation leads to the existence of a transition layer at the interface between ferroelectrics or a ferroelectric and a dielectric. The permittivity of this layer is shown to depend on the electric field direction even if the ferroelectrics in contact are homogeneous. The results obtained in terms of the Weiss model are compared with the results of the models based on the correlation effect and the presence of a dielectric layer at the boundary of a ferroelectric and with experimental data.

  6. Ferroelectric Polarization in Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite Thin Films on Silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, S. B.; Tofail, S. A. M.; Kholkin, A. L.; Wojtaś, M.; Gregor, M.; Gandhi, A. A.; Wang, Y.; Bauer, S.; Krause, M.; Plecenik, A.

    2013-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite nanocrystals in natural form are a major component of bone- a known piezoelectric material. Synthetic hydroxyapatite is widely used in bone grafts and prosthetic pyroelectric coatings as it binds strongly with natural bone. Nanocrystalline synthetic hydroxyapatite films have recently been found to exhibit strong piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity. While a spontaneous polarization in hydroxyapatite has been predicted since 2005, the reversibility of this polarization (i.e. ferroelectricity) requires experimental evidence. Here we use piezoresponse force microscopy to demonstrate that nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite indeed exhibits ferroelectricity: a reversal of polarization under an electrical field. This finding will strengthen investigations on the role of electrical polarization in biomineralization and bone-density related diseases. As hydroxyapatite is one of the most common biocompatible materials, our findings will also stimulate systematic exploration of lead and rare-metal free ferroelectric devices for potential applications in areas as diverse as in vivo and ex vivo energy harvesting, biosensing and electronics. PMID:23884324

  7. Ferroelectric thin films using oxides as raw materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.B. Araújo

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available This work describes an alternative method for the preparation of ferroelectric thin films based on pre-calcination of oxides, to be used as precursor material for a solution preparation. In order to show the viability of the proposed method, PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3 and Bi4Ti3O12 thin films were prepared on fused quartz and Si substrates. The results were analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, Infrared Spectroscopy (IR and Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS. The films obtained show good quality, homogeneity and the desired stoichiometry. The estimated thickness for one layer deposition was approximately 1000 Å and 1500 Å for Bi4Ti3O12 and PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3 films, respectively.

  8. Nano-embossing technology on ferroelectric thin film Pb(Zr0.3,Ti0.7O3 for multi-bit storage application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Qian

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this work, we apply nano-embossing technique to form a stagger structure in ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate [Pb(Zr0.3, Ti0.7O3 (PZT] films and investigate the ferroelectric and electrical characterizations of the embossed and un-embossed regions, respectively, of the same films by using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM and Radiant Technologies Precision Material Analyzer. Attributed to the different layer thickness of the patterned ferroelectric thin film, two distinctive coercive voltages have been obtained, thereby, allowing for a single ferroelectric memory cell to contain more than one bit of data.

  9. Experimental studies on the nonlinear dynamics of ferroelectric thin films and layered ferroelectricum/semiconductor structures in oscillating systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barz, Kay

    2010-01-01

    In this work experimental techniques for characterization of ferroelectric nm-thin films and ferroelectric/semiconductor structures by means of nonlinear phenomena are discussed. The thin film sample is applied in a series resonant circuit. By recording time series data and amplitude-frequency-characteristics (resonance frequency shift), the nonlinear behavior can be analyzed with respect to the theoretical aspects of these effects in the framework of nonlinear dynamics. The evolving ferroelectric hysteresis is represented by the amplitude-frequency-characteristic in a very detailed form. Interpretations are presented on how transient alterations like fatigue or retention loss, affect the amplitude-frequency-characteristics. Time series analysis allows to separate the specific influence of the nonlinear components and their corresponding time constants. The work closes with suggestions for a systematic application of the presented techniques for an extended characterization of ferroelectric thin films. (orig.)

  10. Influence of test capacitor features on piezoelectric and dielectric measurement of ferroelectric films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhihong; Lau, Gih Keong; Zhu, Weiguang; Chao, Chen

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents both theoretical and numerical analyses of the piezoelectric and dielectric responses of a highly idealized film-on-substrate system, namely, a polarized ferroelectric film perfectly bonded to an elastic silicon substrate. It shows that both effective dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the films change with the size and configuration of the test capacitor. There exists a critical electrode size that is smaller than the diameter of the commonly used substrate. The effective film properties converge to their respective constrained values as capacitor size increases to the critical size. If capacitor size is smaller than the critical size, the surface displacement at the top electrode deviates from the net thickness change in response to an applied voltage because the film is deformable at the film/substrate interface. The constrained properties of the films depend only on those of bulk ferroelectrics but are independent of film thickness and substrate properties. The finding of the critical capacitor size together with analytical expressions of the constrained properties makes it possible to realize consistent measurement of piezoelectric and dielectric properties of films. A surface scanning technique is recommended to measure the profile of piezoresponses of the film so that the constrained properties of the film can be identified accurately.

  11. PMN-PT-PZT composite films for high frequency ultrasonic transducer applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Hsiu-Sheng; Benjauthrit, Vatcharee; Zheng, Fan; Chen, Rumin; Huang, Yuhong; Zhou, Qifa; Shung, K Kirk

    2012-06-01

    We have successfully fabricated x (0.65PMN-0.35PT)-(1 - x )PZT ( x PMN-PT-(1 - x )PZT), where x is 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9, thick films with a thickness of approximately 9 µm on platinized silicon substrate by employing a composite sol-gel technique. X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy revealed that these films are dense and creak-free with well-crystallized perovskite phase in the whole composition range. The dielectric constant can be controllably adjusted by using different compositions. Higher PZT content of x PMN-PT-(1 - x )PZT films show better ferroelectric properties. A representative 0.9PMN-PT-0.1PZT thick film transducer is built. It has 200 MHz center frequency with a -6 dB bandwidth of 38% (76 MHz). The measured two-way insertion loss is 65 dB.

  12. Homo-junction ferroelectric field-effect-transistor memory device using solution-processed lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayak, Pradipta K.; Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.; Bhansali, Unnat. S.; Alshareef, H. N.

    2012-06-01

    High performance homo-junction field-effect transistor memory devices were prepared using solution processed transparent lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films for both the ferroelectric and semiconducting active layers. A highest field-effect mobility of 8.7 cm2/Vs was obtained along with an Ion/Ioff ratio of 106. The ferroelectric thin film transistors showed a low sub-threshold swing value of 0.19 V/dec and a significantly reduced device operating voltage (±4 V) compared to the reported hetero-junction ferroelectric transistors, which is very promising for low-power non-volatile memory applications.

  13. Ferroelectricity down to at least 2 nm in multiferroic BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bea, H.; Fusil, S.; Bouzehouane, K.; Sirena, M.; Herranz, G.; Jacquet, E.; Contour, J.-P.; Barthelemy, A.; Bibes, M.

    2006-01-01

    We report here on the preservation of ferroelectricity down to 2 nm in BiFeO 3 ultrathin films. The electric polarization can be switched reversibly and is stable over several days. Our findings insight on the fundamental problem of ferroelectricity at low thickness and confirm the potential of BiFeO 3 as a lead-free ferroelectric and multiferroic material for nanoscale devices. (author)

  14. Effects of Mn doping on the ferroelectric properties of PZT thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Qi

    2004-01-01

    The effects of Mn doping on the ferroelectric properties of Pb(Zr 0.3 Ti 0.7 )O 3 (PZT) thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si substrates have been investigated. The composition of the PZT and Mn doping level are Pb(Zr 0.3 Ti 0.7 ) 1-x Mn x O 3 (x = 0,0.2,0.5,1,2,4 mol%). The PZT thin films doped with a small amount of Mn 2+ (x ≤ 1) showed almost no hysteretic fatigue up to 10 10 switching bipolar pulse cycles, coupled with excellent retention properties. However, excessive additions of manganese made the fatigue behaviour worse. We propose that the addition of small amounts of Mn is able to reduce the oxygen vacancy concentration due to the combination of Mn 2+ and oxygen vacancies in PZT films, forming Mn 4+ ions. The interfacial layer between the Pt electrode and PZT films and Mn-doped PZT (x = 4) was detected by measuring the dielectric constant of thin films of different thickness. However, this interfacial layer was not detected in Mn-doped PZT (x = 1). These observations support the concept of the preferential electromigration of oxygen vacancies into sites in planes parallel to the electrodes, which is probably responsible for the hysteretic fatigue

  15. Ferroelectric tunneling element and memory applications which utilize the tunneling element

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalinin, Sergei V [Knoxville, TN; Christen, Hans M [Knoxville, TN; Baddorf, Arthur P [Knoxville, TN; Meunier, Vincent [Knoxville, TN; Lee, Ho Nyung [Oak Ridge, TN

    2010-07-20

    A tunneling element includes a thin film layer of ferroelectric material and a pair of dissimilar electrically-conductive layers disposed on opposite sides of the ferroelectric layer. Because of the dissimilarity in composition or construction between the electrically-conductive layers, the electron transport behavior of the electrically-conductive layers is polarization dependent when the tunneling element is below the Curie temperature of the layer of ferroelectric material. The element can be used as a basis of compact 1R type non-volatile random access memory (RAM). The advantages include extremely simple architecture, ultimate scalability and fast access times generic for all ferroelectric memories.

  16. Preparation and electromagnetic properties of low-temperature sintered ferroelectric-ferrite composite ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yue Zhenxing; Chen Shaofeng; Qi Xiwei; Gui Zhilun; Li Longtu

    2004-01-01

    For the purpose of multilayer chip EMI filters, the new ferroelectric-ferrite composite ceramics were prepared by mixing PMZNT relaxor ferroelectric powder with composition of 0.85Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -0.1Pb(Ni 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -0.05PbTiO 3 and NiCuZn ferrite powder with composition of (Ni 0.20 Cu 0.20 Zn 0.60 )O(Fe 2 O 3 ) 0.97 at low sintering temperatures. A small amount of Bi 2 O 3 was added to low sintering temperature. Consequently, the dense composite ceramics were obtained at relative low sintering temperatures, which were lower than 940 deg. C. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD) identifications showed that the sintered ceramics retained the presence of distinct ferroelectric and ferrite phases. The sintering studies and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations revealed that the co-existed two phases affect the sintering behavior and grain growth of components. The electromagnetic properties, such as dielectric constant and initial permeability, change continuously between those of two components. Thus, the low-temperature sintered ferroelectric-ferrite composite ceramics with tunable electromagnetic properties were prepared by adjusting the relative content of two components. These materials can be used for multilayer chip EMI filters with various properties

  17. Total-dose radiation-induced degradation of thin film ferroelectric capacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwank, J.R.; Nasby, R.D.; Miller, S.L.; Rodgers, M.S.; Dressendorfer, P.V.

    1990-01-01

    Thin film PbZr y Ti 1-y O 3 (PZT) ferroelectric memories offer the potential for radiation-hardened, high-speed nonvolatile memories with good retention and fatigue properties. In this paper we explore in detail the radiation hardness of PZT ferroelectric capacitors. Ferroelectric capacitors were irradiated using x-ray and Co-60 sources to dose levels up to 16 Mrad(Si). The capacitors were characterized for their memory properties both before and after irradiation. The radiation hardness was process dependent. Three out of four processes resulted in capacitors that showed less than 30% radiation-induced degradation in retained polarization charge and remanent polarization after irradiating to 16 Mrad(Si). On the other hand, one of the processes showed significant radiation-induced degradation in retained polarization charge and remanent polarization at dose levels above 1 Mrad(Si). The decrease in retained polarization charge appears to be due to an alteration of the switching characteristics of the ferroelectric due to changes in the internal fields. The radiation-induced degradation is recoverable by a postirradiation biased anneal and can be prevented entirely if devices are cycled during irradiation. The authors have developed a model to simulate the observed degradation

  18. Dielectric response of fully and partially depleted ferroelectric thin films and inversion of the thickness effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misirlioglu, I B; Yildiz, M

    2013-01-01

    We study the effect of full and partial depletion on the dielectric response characteristics of ferroelectric thin films with impurities via a computational approach. Using a thermodynamic approach along with the fundamental equations for semiconductors, we show that films with partial depletion display unique features and an enhanced dielectric response compared with those fully depleted. We find that the capacitance peak at switching can be significantly suppressed in the case of high impurity densities (>10 25 m −3 ) with relatively low ionization energy, of the order of 0.5 eV. For conserved number of species in films, electromigration of ionized impurities at room temperature is negligible and has nearly no effect on the dielectric response. In films with high impurity density, the dielectric response at zero bias is enhanced with respect to charge-free films or those with relatively low impurity density ( 24 m −3 ). We demonstrate that partially depleted films should be expected to exhibit peculiar capacitance–voltage characteristics at low and high bias and that the thickness effect probed in experiments in ferroelectric thin films could be entirely inverted in thin films with depletion charges where a higher dielectric response can be measured in thicker films. Therefore, depletion charge densities in ferroelectric thin films should be estimated before size-effect-related studies. Finally, we noted that these findings are in good qualitative agreement with dielectric measurements carried out on PbZr x Ti 1−x O 3 . (paper)

  19. Ferroelectric properties of barium strontium titanate thin films grown by RF co-sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapata-Navarro, A.; Marquez-Herrera, A.; Cruz-Jauregui, M.P.; Calzada, M.L.

    2005-01-01

    In this work, we present the variation of the ferroelectric properties of Ba 1-x Sr x TiO 3 films deposited on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si substrates by RF co-sputtering with 0≤x≤1. The co-sputtering was done using a single magnetron with BaTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 targets in a pie mosaics configuration. Smooth and uniform films were obtained using the same conditions of growth and annealing temperature. The X-ray diffraction and EDS results show that the processes were managed to obtain crystalline materials with x from 0 to 1. The behaviour of P-E loops suggests that the ferroelectric properties of the films were tuned by changing the concentration of the cation. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  20. Misfit strain dependence of ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of clamped (001) epitaxial Pb(Zr0.52,Ti0.48)O3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Minh D.; Dekkers, Matthijn; Houwman, Evert; Steenwelle, Ruud; Wan, Xin; Roelofs, Andreas; Schmitz-Kempen, Thorsten; Rijnders, Guus

    2011-12-01

    A study on the effects of the residual strain in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties is presented. Epitaxial (001)-oriented PZT thin film capacitors are sandwiched between SrRuO3 electrodes. The thin film stacks are grown on different substrate-buffer-layer combinations by pulsed laser deposition. Compressive or tensile strain caused by the difference in thermal expansion of the PZT film and substrate influences the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. All the PZT stacks show ferroelectric and piezoelectric behavior that is consistent with the theoretical model for strained thin films in the ferroelectric r-phase. We conclude that clamped (001) oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films strained by the substrate always show rotation of the polarization vector.

  1. PMN-PT–PZT composite films for high frequency ultrasonic transducer applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Hsiu-Sheng; Benjauthrit, Vatcharee; Zheng, Fan; Chen, Rumin; Huang, Yuhong; Zhou, Qifa; Shung, K. Kirk

    2013-01-01

    We have successfully fabricated x(0.65PMN-0.35PT)–(1 − x)PZT (xPMN-PT–(1 − x)PZT), where x is 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9, thick films with a thickness of approximately 9 µm on platinized silicon substrate by employing a composite sol–gel technique. X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy revealed that these films are dense and creak-free with well-crystallized perovskite phase in the whole composition range. The dielectric constant can be controllably adjusted by using different compositions. Higher PZT content of xPMN-PT–(1 − x)PZT films show better ferroelectric properties. A representative 0.9PMN-PT–0.1PZT thick film transducer is built. It has 200 MHz center frequency with a −6 dB bandwidth of 38% (76 MHz). The measured two-way insertion loss is 65 dB. PMID:23750072

  2. Investigation of the ferroelectric switching behavior of P(VDF-TrFE)-PMMA blended films for synaptic device applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, E J; Kim, K A; Yoon, S M

    2016-01-01

    Synaptic plasticity can be mimicked by electronic synaptic devices. By using ferroelectric thin films as gate insulator for thin-film transistors (TFT), channel conductance can be defined as the synaptic plasticity, and gradually modulated by the variations in amounts of aligned ferroelectric dipoles. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)]-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blended films are chosen and their switching kinetics are investigated by using the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi model. The switching time for ferroelectric polarization is sensitively influenced by the amplitude of applied electric field and volumetric ratio of ferroelectric beta-phases in the P(VDF-TrFE)-PMMA films. The switching time of the P(VDF-TrFE) increases with decreasing the pulse amplitude and/or the ratio of ferroelectric beta-phases by incorporation of PMMA. The activation electric field is also found to increase as the increase in blended amount of PMMA. Synapse TFTs are fabricated using the P(VDF-TrFE)-PMMA as gate insulator and In-Ga-Zn-O active channels. The drain currents of the synapse TFTs gradually increased when the voltage pulse signals with given duration are repeatedly applied. This suggests that the synaptic weights can be modulated by the number of external pulse signals, and that the proposed synapse TFT can be applied for mimicking the operations of bio-synapses. (paper)

  3. Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Hao; Hong Jiawang; Zhang Yihui; Li Faxin; Pei Yongmao; Fang Daining

    2012-01-01

    Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO 3 thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.

  4. Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou Hao [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Hong Jiawang; Zhang Yihui [Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Li Faxin [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Pei Yongmao, E-mail: peiym@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Fang Daining, E-mail: fangdn@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2012-09-01

    Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3} thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.

  5. Modeling the influence of the seeding layer on the transition behavior of a ferroelectric thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oubelkacem, A.; Essaoudi, I.; Ainane, A.; Saber, M.; Dujardin, F.

    2011-01-01

    The transition properties of a ferroelectric thin film with seeding layers were studied using the effective field theory with a probability distribution technique that accounts for the self-spin correlation functions. The effect of interaction parameters for the seeding layer on the phase diagram was also examined. We calculated the critical temperature and the polarization of the ferroelectric thin film for different seeding layer structures. We found that the seeding layer can greatly increase the Curie temperature and the polarization.

  6. Low temperature dielectric relaxation and charged defects in ferroelectric thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Artemenko

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available We report a dielectric relaxation in BaTiO3-based ferroelectric thin films of different composition and with several growth modes: sputtering (with and without magnetron and sol-gel. The relaxation was observed at cryogenic temperatures (T < 100 K for frequencies from 100 Hz up to 10 MHz. This relaxation activation energy is always lower than 200 meV and is very similar to the relaxation that we reported in the parent bulk perovskites. Based on our Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR investigation, we ascribe this dielectric relaxation to the hopping of electrons among Ti3+-V(O charged defects. Being dependent on the growth process and on the amount of oxygen vacancies, this relaxation can be a useful probe of defects in actual integrated capacitors with no need for specific shaping.

  7. Ferroelectric properties of barium strontium titanate thin films grown by RF co-sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zapata-Navarro, A.; Marquez-Herrera, A. [CICATA-IPN, Km. 14.5 Carretera Tampico-Puerto Ind. Altamira, Altamira Tamaulipas 89600 (Mexico); Cruz-Jauregui, M.P. [CCMC-UNAM, Km. 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada B.C. 22800 (Mexico); Calzada, M.L. [ICMM (CSIC) Madrid, Cantoblanco Madrid 28049 (Spain)

    2005-08-01

    In this work, we present the variation of the ferroelectric properties of Ba{sub 1-x}Sr{sub x}TiO{sub 3} films deposited on Pt/TiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates by RF co-sputtering with 0{<=}x{<=}1. The co-sputtering was done using a single magnetron with BaTiO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} targets in a pie mosaics configuration. Smooth and uniform films were obtained using the same conditions of growth and annealing temperature. The X-ray diffraction and EDS results show that the processes were managed to obtain crystalline materials with x from 0 to 1. The behaviour of P-E loops suggests that the ferroelectric properties of the films were tuned by changing the concentration of the cation. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  8. Ferroelectric Thin-Film Capacitors and Piezoelectric Switches for Mobile Communication Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klee, Mareike; van Esch, Harry; Keur, Wilco; Kumar, Biju; van Leuken-Peters, Linda; Liu, Jin; Mauczok, Rüdiger; Neumann, Kai; Reimann, Klaus; Renders, Christel; Roest, Aarnoud L.; Tiggelman, M.P.J.; de Wild, Marco; Wunnicke, Olaf; Zhao, Jing

    2009-01-01

    Thin-film ferroelectric capacitors have been integrated with resistors and active functions such as ESD protection into small, miniaturized modules, which enable a board space saving of up to 80%. With the optimum materials and processes, integrated capacitors with capacitance densities of up to 100

  9. Hysteresis loop behaviors of ferroelectric thin films: A Monte Carlo simulation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. Bedoya-Hincapié, C.; H. Ortiz-Álvarez, H.; Restrepo-Parra, E.; J. Olaya-Flórez, J.; E. Alfonso, J.

    2015-11-01

    The ferroelectric response of bismuth titanate Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT) thin film is studied through a Monte Carlo simulation of hysteresis loops. The ferroelectric system is described by using a Diffour Hamiltonian with three terms: the electric field applied in the z direction, the nearest dipole-dipole interaction in the transversal (x-y) direction, and the nearest dipole-dipole interaction in the direction perpendicular to the thin film (the z axis). In the sample construction, we take into consideration the dipole orientations of the monoclinic and orthorhombic structures that can appear in BIT at low temperature in the ferroelectric state. The effects of temperature, stress, and the concentration of pinned dipole defects are assessed by using the hysteresis loops. The results indicate the changes in the hysteresis area with temperature and stress, and the asymmetric hysteresis loops exhibit evidence of the imprint failure mechanism with the emergence of pinned dipolar defects. The simulated shift in the hysteresis loops conforms to the experimental ferroelectric response. Project sponsored by the research departments of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia DIMA and DIB under Project 201010018227-“Crecimiento y caracterización eléctrica y estructural de películas delgadas de BixTiyOz producidas mediante Magnetrón Sputtering” and Project 12920-“Desarrollo teóricoexperimental de nanoestructuras basadas en Bismuto y materiales similares” and “Bisnano Project.”

  10. Enhanced magnetoelectric coupling in a composite multiferroic system via interposing a thin film polymer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Zhuyun; Mohanchandra, Kotekar P.; Lo Conte, Roberto; Ty Karaba, C.; Schneider, J. D.; Chavez, Andres; Tiwari, Sidhant; Sohn, Hyunmin; Nowakowski, Mark E.; Scholl, Andreas; Tolbert, Sarah H.; Bokor, Jeffrey; Carman, Gregory P.; Candler, Rob N.

    2018-05-01

    Enhancing the magnetoelectric coupling in a strain-mediated multiferroic composite structure plays a vital role in controlling magnetism by electric fields. An enhancement of magnetoelastic coupling between ferroelectric single crystal (011)-cut [Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3](1-x)-[PbTiO3]x (PMN-PT, x≈ 0.30) and ferromagnetic polycrystalline Ni thin film through an interposed benzocyclobutene polymer thin film is reported. A nearly twofold increase in sensitivity of remanent magnetization in the Ni thin film to an applied electric field is observed. This observation suggests a viable method of improving the magnetoelectric response in these composite multiferroic systems.

  11. Formation of (111) orientation-controlled ferroelectric orthorhombic HfO{sub 2} thin films from solid phase via annealing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mimura, Takanori; Katayama, Kiliha [Department of Innovative and Engineered Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan); Shimizu, Takao [Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Uchida, Hiroshi [Department of Materials and Life Sciences, Sophia University, Tokyo 102-8554 (Japan); Kiguchi, Takanori; Akama, Akihiro; Konno, Toyohiko J. [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Sakata, Osami [Synchrotron X-ray Station at SPring-8 and Synchrotron X-ray Group, National Institute for Materials Science, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan); Funakubo, Hiroshi, E-mail: funakubo.h.aa@m.titech.ac.jp [Department of Innovative and Engineered Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan); Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan)

    2016-08-01

    0.07YO{sub 1.5}-0.93HfO{sub 2} (YHO7) films were prepared on various substrates by pulse laser deposition at room temperature and subsequent heat treatment to enable a solid phase reaction. (111)-oriented 10 wt. % Sn-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3}(ITO)//(111) yttria-stabilized zirconia, (111)Pt/TiO{sub x}/SiO{sub 2}/(001)Si substrates, and (111)ITO/(111)Pt/TiO{sub x}/SiO{sub 2}/(001)Si substrates were employed for film growth. In this study, X-ray diffraction measurements including θ–2θ measurements, reciprocal space mappings, and pole figure measurements were used to study the films. The film on (111)ITO//(111)yttria-stabilized zirconia was an (111)-orientated epitaxial film with ferroelectric orthorhombic phase; the film on (111)ITO/(111)Pt/TiO{sub x}/SiO{sub 2}/(001)Si was an (111)-oriented uniaxial textured film with ferroelectric orthorhombic phase; and no preferred orientation was observed for the film on the (111)Pt/TiO{sub x}/SiO{sub 2}/(001)Si substrate, which does not contain ITO. Polarization–hysteresis measurements confirmed that the films on ITO covered substrates had saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops. A remanent polarization (P{sub r}) of 9.6 and 10.8 μC/cm{sup 2} and coercive fields (E{sub c}) of 1.9 and 2.0 MV/cm were obtained for the (111)-oriented epitaxial and uniaxial textured YHO7 films, respectively. These results demonstrate that the (111)-oriented ITO bottom electrodes play a key role in controlling the orientation and ferroelectricity of the phase formation of the solid films deposited at room temperature.

  12. Modeling two-phase ferroelectric composites by sequential laminates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Idiart, Martín I

    2014-01-01

    Theoretical estimates are given for the overall dissipative response of two-phase ferroelectric composites with complex particulate microstructures under arbitrary loading histories. The ferroelectric behavior of the constituent phases is described via a stored energy density and a dissipation potential in accordance with the theory of generalized standard materials. An implicit time-discretization scheme is used to generate a variational representation of the overall response in terms of a single incremental potential. Estimates are then generated by constructing sequentially laminated microgeometries of particulate type whose overall incremental potential can be computed exactly. Because they are realizable, by construction, these estimates are guaranteed to conform with any material constraints, to satisfy all pertinent bounds and to exhibit the required convexity properties with no duality gap. Predictions for representative composite and porous systems are reported and discussed in the light of existing experimental data. (paper)

  13. Nondestructive investigatons of the depth profile of PZT ferroelectric films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Deineka, Alexander; Glinchuk, M. D.; Jastrabík, Lubomír; Suchaneck, G.; Gerlach, G.

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 264, - (2001), s. 151-156 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A015; GA ČR GA202/00/1425 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : ferroelectric film * depth profile * interface Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.471, year: 2001

  14. Novel ferroelectric capacitor for non-volatile memory storage and biomedical tactile sensor applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Shi Yang; Chua, Lynn; Tan, Kian Chuan; Valavan, S.E.

    2010-01-01

    We report on novel ferroelectric thin film compositions for use in non-volatile memory storage and biomedical tactile sensor applications. The lead zirconate titanate (PZT) composition was modified by lanthanum (La 3+ ) (PLZT) and vanadium (V 5+ ) (PZTV, PLZTV) doping. Hybrid films with PZTV and PLZTV as top layers are also made using seed layers of differing compositions using sol-gel and spin coating methods. La 3+ doping decreased the coercive field, polarization and leakage current, while increasing the relative permittivity. V 5+ doping, while having similar effects, results in an enhanced polarization, with comparable dielectric loss characteristics. Complex doping of both La 3+ and V 5+ in PLZTV, while reducing the polarization relative to PZTV, significantly decreases the coercive field. Hybrid films have a greater uniformity of grain formation than non-hybrid films, thus decreasing the coercive field, leakage current and polarization fatigue while increasing the relative permittivity. Analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) verified the retention of the PZT perovskite structure in the novel films. PLZT/PZTV has been identified as an optimal ferroelectric film composition due to its desirable ferroelectric, fatigue and dielectric properties, including the highest observed remnant polarization (P r ) of ∼ 25 μC/cm 2 , saturation polarization (P sat ) of ∼ 58 μC/cm 2 and low coercive field (E c ) of ∼ 60 kV/cm at an applied field of ∼ 1000 kV/cm, as well as a low leakage current density of ∼ 10 -5 A/cm 2 at 500 kV/cm and fatigue resistance of up to ∼ 10 10 switching cycles.

  15. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films and their applications for integrated capacitors, piezoelectric ultrasound transducers and piezoelectric switches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klee, M; Boots, H; Kumar, B; Heesch, C van; Mauczok, R; Keur, W; Wild, M de; Esch, H van; Roest, A L; Reimann, K; Leuken, L van; Wunnicke, O; Zhao, J; Schmitz, G; Mienkina, M; Mleczko, M; Tiggelman, M

    2010-01-01

    Ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films are gaining more and more importance for the integration of high performance devices in small modules. High-K 'Integrated Discretes' devices have been developed, which are based on thin film ferroelectric capacitors integrated together with resistors and ESD protection diodes in a small Si-based chip-scale package. Making use of ferroelectric thin films with relative permittivity of 950-1600 and stacking processes of capacitors, extremely high capacitance densities of 20-520 nF/mm 2 , high breakdown voltages up to 140 V and lifetimes of more than 10 years at operating voltages of 5 V and 85 deg. C are achieved. Thin film high-density capacitors play also an important role as tunable capacitors for applications such as tuneable matching circuits for RF sections of mobile phones. The performance of thin film tuneable capacitors at frequencies between 1 MHz and 1 GHz is investigated. Finally thin film piezoelectric ultrasound transducers, processed in Si- related processes, are attractive for medical imaging, since they enable large bandwidth (>100%), high frequency operation and have the potential to integrate electronics. With these piezoelectric thin film ultrasound transducers real time ultrasound images have been realized. Finally, piezoelectric thin films are used to manufacture galvanic MEMS switches. A model for the quasi-static mechanical behaviour is presented and compared with measurements.

  16. Conformal growth method of ferroelectric materials for multifunctional composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowland, Christopher Charles

    Multifunctional composites are the next generation of composites and aim to simultaneously meet multiple performance objectives to create system-level performance enhancements. Current fiber-reinforced composites have offered improved efficiency and performance through weight reduction and increased strength. However, these composites satisfy singular performance objectives. Therefore, the concept of multifunctional composites was developed as an approach to create components in a system that serve multiple functions. These composites aim to reduce the required components in a system by integrating unifunctional components together thus reducing the weight and complexity of the system as a whole. This work offers an approach to create multifunctional composites through the development of a structural, multifunctional fiber. This is achieved by synthesizing a ferroelectric material on the surface of carbon fiber. In this work, a two-step hydrothermal reaction is developed for synthesizing a conformal film of barium titanate (BaTiO3) on the surface of carbon fiber. A fundamental understanding of this hydrothermal process is performed on planar substrates leading to the development of processing parameters that result in epitaxial-type growth of highly-aligned BaTiO3 nanowires. This work establishes the hydrothermal reaction as a powerful synthesis technique for generating nanostructured BaTiO3 on carbon fiber creating a novel, multifunctional fiber. A reaction optimization process leads to the development of parameters that stabilize tetragonal phase BaTiO3 without the need for subsequent heat treatments. The application potential of these fibers is illustrated with both single fibers and woven fabrics. Single fiber cantilever beams are fabricated and subjected to vibrations to determine its voltage output with the ultimate goal of producing an air flow sensor. Carbon fiber reinforced composite integration is carried out by scaling up the hydrothermal reaction to

  17. Visualization of dielectric constant-electric field-temperature phase maps for imprinted relaxor ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frederick, J. C.; Kim, T. H.; Maeng, W.; Brewer, A. A.; Podkaminer, J. P.; Saenrang, W.; Vaithyanathan, V.; Schlom, D. G.; Li, F.; Chen, L.-Q.; Trolier-McKinstry, S.; Rzchowski, M. S.; Eom, C. B.

    2016-01-01

    The dielectric phase transition behavior of imprinted lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate relaxor ferroelectric thin films was mapped as a function of temperature and dc bias. To compensate for the presence of internal fields, an external electric bias was applied while measuring dielectric responses. The constructed three-dimensional dielectric maps provide insight into the dielectric behaviors of relaxor ferroelectric films as well as the temperature stability of the imprint. The transition temperature and diffuseness of the dielectric response correlate with crystallographic disorder resulting from strain and defects in the films grown on strontium titanate and silicon substrates; the latter was shown to induce a greater degree of disorder in the film as well as a dielectric response lower in magnitude and more diffuse in nature over the same temperature region. Strong and stable imprint was exhibited in both films and can be utilized to enhance the operational stability of piezoelectric devices through domain self-poling.

  18. Magnetoelectric properties of magnetic/ferroelectric multilayer thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hwang, Sung-Ok; Eum, You-Jeong; Koo, Chang-Young; Lee, Hee-Young [Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of); Park, Jung-Min [Osaka University, Osaka (Japan); Ryu, Jung-Ho [Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-07-15

    Magnetic/ferroelectric multilayer thin films using PbZr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} (PZT) and two different magnetic materials, i.e., Terfenol-D and CuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CuFO) layers, were fabricated, and their magnetoelectric (ME) coupling behavior was investigated. The PZT layer was first coated onto Pt/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrate by sol-gel spin coating method. Pt layer, which served as an electrode and a diffusion barrier, was grown on the PZT layer by using the ion-beam sputtering method. The ME voltage coefficients were calculated from the ME voltage data measured utilizing a magnetoelectric test system. The Terfenol-D/Pt/PZT films were found to show a higher in-plane ME voltage coefficient than that the CuFO/Pt/PZT films due primarily to the higher magnetostriction coefficient of Terfenol-D.

  19. Effect of polarization fatigue on the Rayleigh coefficients of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate thin films: Experimental evidence and implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, X. J.; Zhang, H. J.; Luo, Z. D.; Zhang, F. P.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Q. D.; Fang, A. P.; Dkhil, B.; Zhang, M.; Ren, X. B.; He, H. L.

    2014-09-01

    The effect of polarization fatigue on the Rayleigh coefficients of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film was systematically investigated. It was found that electrical fatigue strongly affects the Rayleigh behaviour of the PZT film. Both the reversible and irreversible Rayleigh coefficients decrease with increasing the number of switching cycles. This phenomenon is attributed to the growth of an interfacial degraded layer between the electrode and the film during electrical cycling. The methodology used in this work could serve as an alternative way for evaluating the fatigue endurance and degradation in dielectric properties of ferroelectric thin-film devices during applications.

  20. Electric field and temperature scaling of polarization reversal in silicon doped hafnium oxide ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Dayu; Guan, Yan; Vopson, Melvin M.; Xu, Jin; Liang, Hailong; Cao, Fei; Dong, Xianlin; Mueller, Johannes; Schenk, Tony; Schroeder, Uwe

    2015-01-01

    HfO 2 -based binary lead-free ferroelectrics show promising properties for non-volatile memory applications, providing that their polarization reversal behavior is fully understood. In this work, temperature-dependent polarization hysteresis measured over a wide applied field range has been investigated for Si-doped HfO 2 ferroelectric thin films. Our study indicates that in the low and medium electric field regimes (E < twofold coercive field, 2E c ), the reversal process is dominated by the thermal activation on domain wall motion and domain nucleation; while in the high-field regime (E > 2E c ), a non-equilibrium nucleation-limited-switching mechanism dominates the reversal process. The optimum field for ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) applications was determined to be around 2.0 MV/cm, which translates into a 2.0 V potential applied across the 10 nm thick films

  1. High-performance ferroelectric memory based on phase-separated films of polymer blends

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser; Bhansali, Unnat Sampatraj; Almadhoun, Mahmoud N.; Odeh, Ihab N.; Cha, Dong Kyu; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2013-01-01

    High-performance polymer memory is fabricated using blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) and highly insulating poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPO). The blend films spontaneously phase separate into amorphous PPO nanospheres embedded in a semicrystalline P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Using low molecular weight PPO with high miscibility in a common solvent, i.e., methyl ethyl ketone, blend films are spin cast with extremely low roughness (Rrms ≈ 4.92 nm) and achieve nanoscale phase seperation (PPO domain size < 200 nm). These blend devices display highly improved ferroelectric and dielectric performance with low dielectric losses (<0.2 up to 1 MHz), enhanced thermal stability (up to ≈353 K), excellent fatigue endurance (80% retention after 106 cycles at 1 KHz) and high dielectric breakdown fields (≈360 MV/m). © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. High-performance ferroelectric memory based on phase-separated films of polymer blends

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser

    2013-10-29

    High-performance polymer memory is fabricated using blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) and highly insulating poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPO). The blend films spontaneously phase separate into amorphous PPO nanospheres embedded in a semicrystalline P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Using low molecular weight PPO with high miscibility in a common solvent, i.e., methyl ethyl ketone, blend films are spin cast with extremely low roughness (Rrms ≈ 4.92 nm) and achieve nanoscale phase seperation (PPO domain size < 200 nm). These blend devices display highly improved ferroelectric and dielectric performance with low dielectric losses (<0.2 up to 1 MHz), enhanced thermal stability (up to ≈353 K), excellent fatigue endurance (80% retention after 106 cycles at 1 KHz) and high dielectric breakdown fields (≈360 MV/m). © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Characteristics of 1–3-type ferroelectric ceramic/auxetic polymer composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Topolov, V Yu; Bowen, C R

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents modelling and simulation results on 1–3 piezoactive composites comprising a range of ferroelectric ceramics, which are assumed to have variable properties and an auxetic polymer (i.e. a material with a negative Poisson ratio) that improves the hydrostatic piezoelectric response of the composite. Dependences of the effective piezoelectric coefficients and related parameters of the 1–3 composites on the degree of poling, mobility of the 90° domain walls within ceramic grains, on the volume fraction of the ceramic component and on the Poisson ratio of the polymer component have been calculated and analysed. The role of the piezoelectric anisotropy and domain-orientation processes in improving and optimising the effective parameters, piezoelectric activity and sensitivity of 1–3 ferroelectric ceramic/auxetic composites is discussed

  4. Microstructure research for ferroelectric origin in the strained Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin film via geometric phase analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bi, Han; Sun, Qingqing; Zhao, Xuebing; You, Wenbin; Zhang, David Wei; Che, Renchao

    2018-04-01

    Recently, non-volatile semiconductor memory devices using a ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film have been attracting extensive attention. However, at the nano-scale, the phase structure remains unclear in a thin Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film, which stands in the way of the sustained development of ferroelectric memory nano-devices. Here, a series of electron microscopy evidences have illustrated that the interfacial strain played a key role in inducing the orthorhombic phase and the distorted tetragonal phase, which was the origin of the ferroelectricity in the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film. Our results provide insight into understanding the association between ferroelectric performances and microstructures of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2-based systems.

  5. Boosting the Recoverable Energy Density of Lead-Free Ferroelectric Ceramic Thick Films through Artificially Induced Quasi-Relaxor Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peddigari, Mahesh; Palneedi, Haribabu; Hwang, Geon-Tae; Lim, Kyung Won; Kim, Ga-Yeon; Jeong, Dae-Yong; Ryu, Jungho

    2018-06-08

    Dielectric ceramic film capacitors, which store energy in the form of electric polarization, are promising for miniature pulsed power electronic device applications. For a superior energy storage performance of the capacitors, large recoverable energy density, along with high efficiency, high power density, fast charge/discharge rate, and good thermal/fatigue stability, is desired. Herein, we present highly dense lead-free 0.942[Na 0.535 K 0.480 NbO 3 ]-0.058LiNbO 3 (KNNLN) ferroelectric ceramic thick films (∼5 μm) demonstrating remarkable energy storage performance. The nanocrystalline KNNLN thick film fabricated by aerosol deposition (AD) process and annealed at 600 °C displayed a quasi-relaxor ferroelectric behavior, which is in contrast to the typical ferroelectric nature of the KNNLN ceramic in its bulk form. The AD film exhibited a large recoverable energy density of 23.4 J/cm 3 , with an efficiency of over 70% under the electric field of 1400 kV/cm. Besides, an ultrahigh power density of 38.8 MW/cm 3 together with a fast discharge speed of 0.45 μs, good fatigue endurance (up to 10 6 cycles), and thermal stability in a wide temperature range of 20-160 °C was also observed. Using the AD process, we could make a highly dense microstructure of the film containing nano-sized grains, which gave rise to the quasi-relaxor ferroelectric characteristics and the remarkable energy storage properties.

  6. Improvement of the fatigue and the ferroelectric properties of PZT films through a LSCO seed layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodrigues, Sofia A.S., E-mail: sofiarodrigues@fisica.uminho.pt; Silva, José P.B.; Khodorov, Anatoli; Martín-Sánchez, Javier; Pereira, M.; Gomes, M.J.M.

    2013-11-01

    Highlights: • Pulsed laser deposited PZT thin films. • Seed layer effect on the structural and ferroelectric properties of the PZT films. • The stability of P{sub r} was improved with the introduction of the LSCO layer. -- Abstract: The ability to optimizate the preparation of Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) films on platinized Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition was demonstrated. The effect of the modification of the interface film/electrode through the use of a (La,Sr)CoO{sub 3} (LSCO) seed layer on the remnant polarization, fatigue endurance and stress in PZT films was studied. An improvement on the ferroelectric properties was found with the using of the LSCO layer. A remnant polarization (P{sub r}) of 19.8 μC/cm{sup 2} and 4.4 μC/cm{sup 2} for films with and without the LSCO layer were found. In the same way the polarization fatigue decreases significantly after deposition of the LSCO layer between the film and substrate. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images revealed a different growth process in the films. Current–voltage (I–V) measurements showed that the use of LSCO seed layer improves the leakage current and, on the other hand the conduction mechanisms in the film without LSCO, after the fatigue test, was found to be changed from Schottky to Poole–Frenkel. The trap activation energy (about 0.14 eV) determined from Poole–Frenkel mode agrees well with the energy level of oxygen vacancies. The films stresses were estimated by XRD in order to explain the improvement on the structure and consequentially ferroelectric properties of the films. The model proposed by Dawber and Scott was found to be in agreement with our experimental data, which seems to predict that the oxygen vacancies play an important role on fatigue.

  7. Characterisation of ferroelectric bulk materials and thin films

    CERN Document Server

    Cain, Markys G

    2014-01-01

    This book presents a comprehensive review of the most important methods used in the characterisation of piezoelectric, ferroelectric and pyroelectric materials. It covers techniques for the analysis of bulk materials and thick and thin film materials and devices. There is a growing demand by industry to adapt and integrate piezoelectric materials into ever smaller devices and structures. Such applications development requires the joint development of reliable, robust, accurate and - most importantly - relevant and applicable measurement and characterisation methods and models. In the past f

  8. In situ 2D diffraction as a tool to characterize ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khamidy, N. I.; Kovacova, V.; Bernasconi, A.; Le Rhun, G.; Vaxelaire, N.

    2017-08-01

    In this paper the application of 2D x-ray diffraction (XRD2) as a technique to characterize in situ during electrical cycling the properties of a ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin film is discussed. XRD2 is one type of XRD on which a 2D detector is used instead of a point detector. This technique enables simultaneous recording of many sample information in a much shorter time compared to conventional XRD. The discussion is focused especially on the data processing technique of the huge data acquired. The methodology to calculate an effective piezoelectric coefficient, analyze the phase and texture, and estimate the domain size and shape is described in this paper. This methodology is then applied to a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film at the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) composition (i.e. Pb[Zr0.52Ti0.48]O3) with a preferred orientation of (1 0 0). The in situ XRD2 characterization was conducted in the European synchrotron radiation facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. Since a high-energy beam with vertical resolution as small as 100 nm was used, a cross-sectional scan of the sample was performed over the entire thickness of the film. From these experimental results, a better understanding on the piezoelectricity phenomena in PZT thin film at MPB composition were achieved, providing original feedback between the elaboration processes and functional properties of the film.

  9. Structural and magneto-dielectric property of (1-x)SBT-xLSMO nanocomposite thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maity, Sarmistha; Bhattacharya, D.; Dhar, A.; Ray, S.K.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: In recent years, interest in multiferroic materials has been increasing due to their potential applications. As single-phase multiferroic materials have very low room temperature magnetoelectric coefficient, recent studies have been concentrated on the possibility of attaining a coupling between the two order parameters by designing composites with magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases via stress mediation. Composite thin films with homogenous matrix, composition spread with terminal layers being ferromagnetic and ferroelectric, layer-by-layer growth, superlattices, as well as epitaxial growth of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric layers on suitable substrates are been currently considered. In the present work, a nanostructured composite thin film of strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT) (ferroelectric layer) and lanthanum strontium manganese oxide (LSMO) (ferromagnetic layer) were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition. Phase separated multiferroic thin films with thickness varying from 50nm to 150nm were deposited from composite target (1-x)SBT-xLSMO with x=0.2, 0.5, 0.8. Grazing angle X-ray diffraction study combined with photo electron spectroscopy with depth profiling was carried out to study the phase separation. Interface quality of the thin film on silicon substrate was studied by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Influence of film thickness and composition (x) on the electrical property of film was examined using impedance spectroscopy. The composite films exhibited ferroelectric as well as ferromagnetic characteristics at room temperature. A small kink in the dielectric spectra near the Neel temperature of LSMO confirmed the magneto-electric effect in the nanocomposite films

  10. Growth and properties of SrBi2TaNbO9 ferroelectric thin films using pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Pingxiong; Deng Hongmei; Shi Meirong; Tong Ziyang; Qin Sumei

    2007-01-01

    High quality SrBi 2 TaNbO 9 (SBTN) ferroelectric thin films were fabricated on platinized silicon by pulsed laser deposition. Microstructure and ferroelectric properties of the films were characterized. Optical fatigue (light/bias) for the thin films was studied and the average remanent polarization dropped by nearly 55% due to the bias/illumination treatment. Optical properties of the thin films were studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) from the ultraviolet to the infrared region. Optical constants, n ∼ 0.16 in the infrared region and n ∼ 2.12 in the visible spectral region, were determined through refractive index functions. The band gap energy is estimated to be 3.93 eV

  11. Switching characteristics for ferroelectric random access memory based on RC model in poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ultrathin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, ChangLi [Department of Physics, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Complex and Intelligent System Research Center, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Wang, XueJun [Complex and Intelligent System Research Center, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Zhang, XiuLi [Department of Physics, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); School of Fundamental Studies, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620 (China); Du, XiaoLi [School of Fundamental Studies, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620 (China); Xu, HaiSheng, E-mail: hsxu@ecust.edu.cn [Department of Physics, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Kunshan Hisense Electronics Co., Ltd., Kunshan, Jiangsu 215300 (China)

    2016-05-15

    The switching characteristic of the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethlene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) films have been studied at different ranges of applied electric field. It is suggest that the increase of the switching speed upon nucleation protocol and the deceleration of switching could be related to the presence of a non-ferroelectric layer. Remarkably, a capacitor and resistor (RC) links model plays significant roles in the polarization switching dynamics of the thin films. For P(VDF-TrFE) ultrathin films with electroactive interlayer, it is found that the switching dynamic characteristics are strongly affected by the contributions of resistor and non-ferroelectric (non-FE) interface factors. A corresponding experiment is designed using poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic) (PEDOT-PSSH) as interlayer with different proton concentrations, and the testing results show that the robust switching is determined by the proton concentration in interlayer and lower leakage current in circuit to reliable applications of such polymer films. These findings provide a new feasible method to enhance the polarization switching for the ferroelectric random access memory.

  12. Switching characteristics for ferroelectric random access memory based on RC model in poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ultrathin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, ChangLi; Wang, XueJun; Zhang, XiuLi; Du, XiaoLi; Xu, HaiSheng

    2016-01-01

    The switching characteristic of the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethlene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) films have been studied at different ranges of applied electric field. It is suggest that the increase of the switching speed upon nucleation protocol and the deceleration of switching could be related to the presence of a non-ferroelectric layer. Remarkably, a capacitor and resistor (RC) links model plays significant roles in the polarization switching dynamics of the thin films. For P(VDF-TrFE) ultrathin films with electroactive interlayer, it is found that the switching dynamic characteristics are strongly affected by the contributions of resistor and non-ferroelectric (non-FE) interface factors. A corresponding experiment is designed using poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic) (PEDOT-PSSH) as interlayer with different proton concentrations, and the testing results show that the robust switching is determined by the proton concentration in interlayer and lower leakage current in circuit to reliable applications of such polymer films. These findings provide a new feasible method to enhance the polarization switching for the ferroelectric random access memory.

  13. Surface-screening mechanisms in ferroelectric thin films and their effect on polarization dynamics and domain structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalinin, Sergei V.; Kim, Yunseok; Fong, Dillon D.; Morozovska, Anna N.

    2018-01-25

    For over 70 years, ferroelectric materials have been one of the central research topics for condensed matter physics and material science, an interest driven both by fundamental science and applications. However, ferroelectric surfaces, the key component of ferroelectric films and nanostructures, still present a significant theoretical and even conceptual challenge. Indeed, stability of ferroelectric phase per se necessitates screening of polarization charge. At surfaces, this can lead to coupling between ferroelectric and semiconducting properties of material, or with surface (electro) chemistry, going well beyond classical models applicable for ferroelectric interfaces. In this review, we summarize recent studies of surface-screening phenomena in ferroelectrics. We provide a brief overview of the historical understanding of the physics of ferroelectric surfaces, and existing theoretical models that both introduce screening mechanisms and explore the relationship between screening and relevant aspects of ferroelectric functionalities starting from phase stability itself. Given that the majority of ferroelectrics exist in multiple-domain states, we focus on local studies of screening phenomena using scanning probe microscopy techniques. We discuss recent studies of static and dynamic phenomena on ferroelectric surfaces, as well as phenomena observed under lateral transport, light, chemical, and pressure stimuli. We also note that the need for ionic screening renders polarization switching a coupled physical-electrochemical process and discuss the non-trivial phenomena such as chaotic behavior during domain switching that stem from this.

  14. Surface-screening mechanisms in ferroelectric thin films and their effect on polarization dynamics and domain structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalinin, Sergei V.; Kim, Yunseok; Fong, Dillon D.; Morozovska, Anna N.

    2018-03-01

    For over 70 years, ferroelectric materials have been one of the central research topics for condensed matter physics and material science, an interest driven both by fundamental science and applications. However, ferroelectric surfaces, the key component of ferroelectric films and nanostructures, still present a significant theoretical and even conceptual challenge. Indeed, stability of ferroelectric phase per se necessitates screening of polarization charge. At surfaces, this can lead to coupling between ferroelectric and semiconducting properties of material, or with surface (electro) chemistry, going well beyond classical models applicable for ferroelectric interfaces. In this review, we summarize recent studies of surface-screening phenomena in ferroelectrics. We provide a brief overview of the historical understanding of the physics of ferroelectric surfaces, and existing theoretical models that both introduce screening mechanisms and explore the relationship between screening and relevant aspects of ferroelectric functionalities starting from phase stability itself. Given that the majority of ferroelectrics exist in multiple-domain states, we focus on local studies of screening phenomena using scanning probe microscopy techniques. We discuss recent studies of static and dynamic phenomena on ferroelectric surfaces, as well as phenomena observed under lateral transport, light, chemical, and pressure stimuli. We also note that the need for ionic screening renders polarization switching a coupled physical–electrochemical process and discuss the non-trivial phenomena such as chaotic behavior during domain switching that stem from this. ).

  15. Ferroelectric Thin Films Basic Properties and Device Physics for Memory Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Okuyama, Masanori

    2005-01-01

    Ferroelectric thin films continue to attract much attention due to their developing, diverse applications in memory devices, FeRAM, infrared sensors, piezoelectric sensors and actuators. This book, aimed at students, researchers and developers, gives detailed information about the basic properties of these materials and the associated device physics. All authors are acknowledged experts in the field.

  16. Effect of thermal strain on the ferroelectric phase transition in polycrystalline Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films studied by Raman spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tenne, D.A.; Soukiassian, A.; Xi, X.X.; Taylor, T.R.; Hansen, P.J.; Speck, J.S.; York, R.A.

    2004-01-01

    We have applied Raman spectroscopy to study the influence of thermal strain on the vibrational properties of polycrystalline Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 TiO 3 films. The films were grown by rf magnetron sputtering on Pt/SiO 2 surface using different host substrates: strontium titanate, sapphire, silicon, and vycor glass. These substrates provide a systematic change in the thermal strain while maintaining the same film microstructure. From the temperature dependence of the ferroelectric A 1 soft phonon intensity, the ferroelectric phase transition temperature, T C , was determined. We found that T C decreases with increasing tensile stress in the films. This dependence is different from the theoretical predictions for epitaxial ferroelectric films. The reduction of the ferroelectric transition temperature with increasing biaxial tensile strain is attributed to the suppression of in-plane polarization due to the small lateral grain size in the films

  17. Subtractive fabrication of ferroelectric thin films with precisely controlled thickness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ievlev, Anton V.; Chyasnavichyus, Marius; Leonard, Donovan N.; Agar, Joshua C.; Velarde, Gabriel A.; Martin, Lane W.; Kalinin, Sergei V.; Maksymovych, Petro; Ovchinnikova, Olga S.

    2018-04-01

    The ability to control thin-film growth has led to advances in our understanding of fundamental physics as well as to the emergence of novel technologies. However, common thin-film growth techniques introduce a number of limitations related to the concentration of defects on film interfaces and surfaces that limit the scope of systems that can be produced and studied experimentally. Here, we developed an ion-beam based subtractive fabrication process that enables creation and modification of thin films with pre-defined thicknesses. To accomplish this we transformed a multimodal imaging platform that combines time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry with atomic force microscopy to a unique fabrication tool that allows for precise sputtering of the nanometer-thin layers of material. To demonstrate fabrication of thin-films with in situ feedback and control on film thickness and functionality we systematically studied thickness dependence of ferroelectric switching of lead-zirconate-titanate, within a single epitaxial film. Our results demonstrate that through a subtractive film fabrication process we can control the piezoelectric response as a function of film thickness as well as improve on the overall piezoelectric response versus an untreated film.

  18. Ferroelectricity, Piezoelectricity, and Dielectricity of 0.06PMnN-0.94PZT(45/55 Thin Film on Silicon Substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The high piezoelectricity and high quality factor ferroelectric thin films are important for electromechanical applications especially the micro electromechanical system (MEMS. The ternary compound ferroelectric thin films 0.06Pb(Mn1/3, Nb2/3O3 + 0.94Pb(Zr0.45, Ti0.55O3 (0.06PMnN-0.94PZT(45/55 were deposited on silicon(100 substrates by RF magnetron sputtering method considering that Mn and Nb doping will improve PZT properties in this research. For comparison, nondoped PZT(45/55 films were also deposited. The results show that both of thin films show polycrystal structures with the main (111 and (101 orientations. The transverse piezoelectric coefficients are e31,eff=−4.03 C/m2 and e31,eff=-3.5 C/m2, respectively. These thin films exhibit classical ferroelectricity, in which the coercive electric field intensities are 2Ec=147.31 kV/cm and 2Ec=135.44 kV/cm, and the saturation polarization Ps=30.86 μC/cm2 and Ps=17.74 μC/cm2, and the remnant polarization Pr=20.44 μC/cm2 and Pr=9.87 μC/cm2, respectively. Moreover, the dielectric constants and loss are εr=681 and D=5% and εr=537 and D=4.3%, respectively. In conclusion, 0.06PMnN-0.94PZT(45/55 thin films act better than nondoped films, even though their dielectric constants are higher. Their excellent ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and high power and energy storage property, especially the easy fabrication, integration realizable, and potentially high quality factor, make this kind of thin films available for the realistic applications.

  19. Thickness-dependent a_1/a_2 domain evolution in ferroelectric PbTiO_3 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, S.; Zhu, Y.L.; Tang, Y.L.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, S.R.; Wang, Y.J.; Ma, X.L.

    2017-01-01

    Ferroelectric a_1/a_2 domain structure has great potentials in high dielectric capacitors and tunable microwave devices. Understanding its structure is crucial to better control the domain configurations for future applications. In this paper, PbTiO_3 thin films with variant thicknesses are deposited on (110)-oriented GdScO_3 substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) and investigated by using conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Cs-corrected Scanning TEM. Contrast analysis and electron diffractions reveal that PbTiO_3 films are domain oriented consisting of a_1/a_2 and a/c domain structure. The a_1/a_2 domains are found to distribute periodically and its width increases with increasing film thickness following square root rule. Cs-corrected STEM imaging demonstrates that the domain walls of a_1/a_2 domain structure have the rotation characteristic of 90° ferroelastic domain wall. The interchange of a_1/a_2 domains induces the formation of vertex domains composed of two 90° and one 180° domain walls. Strains are mainly concentrated on the domain walls. The formation of this complex domain configuration is discussed in terms of the effect of the misfit strain, film thickness and cooling rate. These results provide novel information about a_1/a_2 domain structures and are expected to shed some light on modulating a_1/a_2 ferroelectric domain patterns in the design of ferroelectric-based devices.

  20. Effect of La and W dopants on dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT thin films prepared by sol-gel process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao, Mi; Zhang, Zebin; Zhang, Weikang; Zhang, Ping

    2018-01-01

    La or W-doped lead zirconate titanate thin films (PLZT or PZTW) were prepared on platinized silicon substrates by sol-gel process. The effects of La or W dopant on the phase development, microstructure, dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics of films were studied. For PLZT films, the optimum doping concentration was found to be 2 mol%. While for PZTW films, the dielectric and ferroelectric properties were found to be improved as the doping concentration increased. The fatigue properties of PLZT and PZTW thin films were also investigated, the results showed that A- or B-site donor doping could improve the fatigue properties of PZT thin films. The theory of oxygen vacancy was used to explain the performance improvement caused by donor doping. (orig.)

  1. Effect of La and W dopants on dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT thin films prepared by sol-gel process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Mi; Zhang, Zebin; Zhang, Weikang; Zhang, Ping

    2018-01-01

    La or W-doped lead zirconate titanate thin films (PLZT or PZTW) were prepared on platinized silicon substrates by sol-gel process. The effects of La or W dopant on the phase development, microstructure, dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics of films were studied. For PLZT films, the optimum doping concentration was found to be 2 mol%. While for PZTW films, the dielectric and ferroelectric properties were found to be improved as the doping concentration increased. The fatigue properties of PLZT and PZTW thin films were also investigated, the results showed that A- or B-site donor doping could improve the fatigue properties of PZT thin films. The theory of oxygen vacancy was used to explain the performance improvement caused by donor doping.

  2. Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric properties of (111) oriented lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutta, Soma; Antony Jeyaseelan, A.; Sruthi, S.

    2014-01-01

    Lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) thick film with molecular formula of Pb 0.92 La 0.08 (Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 ) 0.98 O 3 was grown preferentially along (111) direction on Pt/SiO 2 /Si (platinum/silicon oxide/silicon) substrate by spin coating of chemical solution. The directional growth of the film was facilitated by platinum (Pt) (111) template and rapid thermal annealing. X-ray diffraction pattern and atomic force microscopy revealed the preferential growth of the PLZT film. The film was characterized for ferroelectric and detailed piezoelectric properties in a parallel plate capacitor (metal–PLZT–metal) configuration. Ferroelectric characterization of the film showed saturated hysteresis loop with remanent polarization and coercive electric field values of 10.14 μC/cm 2 and 42 kV/cm, respectively, at an applied field of 300 kV/cm. Longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d 33,f ) was measured by employing converse piezoelectric effect where electrical charge response and displacement were measured with electrical voltage excitation on the sample electrodes. The effective transverse piezoelectric coefficient (e 31,f ) was derived from charge measurement with an applied mechanical excitation strain by using the four point bending method. d 33,f and e 31,f coefficients of PLZT films were found to be 380 pm/V and − 0.831 C/m 2 respectively. - Highlights: • PLZT (111) film is prepared by spin coating of chemical sol on Pt (111) template. • Piezoelectric d 33 value (380 pm/V) of PLZT film is found 20% higher than PZT. • Transverse piezocoefficient e 31,f of PLZT film is reported for the first time

  3. Ferroelectricity in undoped hafnium oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polakowski, Patrick; Müller, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    We report the observation of ferroelectric characteristics in undoped hafnium oxide thin films in a thickness range of 4–20 nm. The undoped films were fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and embedded into titanium nitride based metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors for electrical evaluation. Structural as well as electrical evidence for the appearance of a ferroelectric phase in pure hafnium oxide was collected with respect to film thickness and thermal budget applied during titanium nitride electrode formation. Using grazing incidence X-Ray diffraction (GIXRD) analysis, we observed an enhanced suppression of the monoclinic phase fraction in favor of an orthorhombic, potentially, ferroelectric phase with decreasing thickness/grain size and for a titanium nitride electrode formation below crystallization temperature. The electrical presence of ferroelectricity was confirmed using polarization measurements. A remanent polarization P r of up to 10 μC cm −2 as well as a read/write endurance of 1.6 × 10 5 cycles was measured for the pure oxide. The experimental results reported here strongly support the intrinsic nature of the ferroelectric phase in hafnium oxide and expand its applicability beyond the doped systems

  4. Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, M.; Safari, A.; Kingon, A.; Haertling, G.

    1993-02-01

    The eighth International Symposium on the Applications of Ferroelectrics was held in Greenville, SC, on August 30 to Sept 2, 1992. It was attended by approximately 260 scientists and engineers who presented nearly 200 oral and poster papers. The three plenary presentations covered ferroelectric materials which are currently moving into commercial exploitation or have strong potential to do so. These were (1) pyroelectric imaging, (2) ferroelectric materials integrated with silicon for use as micromotors and microsensors and (3) research activity in Japan on high permittivity materials for DRAM's. Invited papers covered such subjects as pyroelectric and electrooptic properties of thin films, photorefractive effects, ferroelectric polymers, piezoelectric transducers, processing of ferroelectrics, domain switching in ferroelectrics, thin film memories, thin film vacuum deposition techniques and the fabrication of chemically prepared PZT and PLZT thin films. The papers continued to reflect the large interest in ferroelectric thin films. It was encouraging that there have been substantial strides made in both the processing and understanding of the films in the last two years. It was equally clear, however, that much still remains to be done before reliable thin film devices will be available in the marketplace.

  5. Effects of surface modification on the critical behaviour in multiple-surface-layer ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Z X

    2013-01-01

    Using the usual mean-field theory approximation, the critical behaviour (i.e. the Curie temperature T c and the critical surface transverse field Ω sc ) in a multiple-surface-layer ferroelectric thin film is studied on the basis of the spin- 1/2 transverse Ising model. The dependence of the Curie temperature T c on the surface transverse field Ω s and the surface layer number N s are discussed in detail. Meanwhile the dependence of the critical surface transverse field Ω sc on the surface layer number N s is also examined. The numerical results indicate that the critical behaviour of ferroelectric thin films is obviously affected by modifications of the surface transverse field Ω s and surface layer number N s .

  6. Synthesis and dielectric properties of ferroelectric-ferrimagnetic PZT-SFMO composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander V. Petrov

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Ferrimagnetic-ferroelectric composite materials on the base of Pb0.85Zr0.53Ti0.47O3– Sr2FeMoO6–δ (PZT-SFMO compounds have been prepared by a complex ceramic technology and a modified sol-gel synthesis. The dielectric properties of the PZT-SFMO composites with the PZT concentrations of 55 wt% and less, as well as of pure SFMO, are caused by the Maxwell-Wagner relaxation and a huge electrical conductivity. In contrast, in pure PZT the ferroelectric phase transition is clearly expressed in the static dielectric permittivity anomaly. Moreover, in all investigated composites, similarly to pure SFMO, the electrical conductivity anomaly is observed in the range from 560–540 K. This indicates that the composites with PZT concentrations of 55 wt% and higher are above the electrical and magnetic percolation threshold, in a good agreement with the excluded volume theory. In PZT-SFMO composites the DC electrical conductivity increases with SFMO concentration almost in a power law fashion, while the activation energy of the DC conductivity decreases under certain conditions.

  7. The converse magnetoelectric coupling in asymmetric granule/matrix composite film with Ni/PZT component

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bo; Su, Ning-Ning; Cui, Wen-Li; Yan, Shi-Nong

    2018-04-01

    In this work, a type of asymmetric granule/matrix composite film is designed, where the Ni granule is dispersed in PZT matrix, meanwhile the top and bottom electrode is constituted by Au and SRO respectively. Predicted through the electrostatic screening model and mean field approximation, considerable electrostatic charge is induced on Ni granule surface by ferroelectric PZT polarization. Predicted through the spin splitting model and spherical shell approximation, both the magnetization and magnetic anisotropy of Ni granule are modulated by ferroelectric PZT polarization. As the volume fraction of Ni granule is increased, the electric modulation of magnetization and magnetic anisotropy is reduced and enhanced respectively. As the dimension of granule/matrix composite is varied, such modulation is retained. Due to the large area-volume ratio of nano-granule, this work benefits to realize the converse magnetoelectric coupling in nanoscale.

  8. Modeling of Structure Effect for Ferroelectric Capacitor Based on Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene Ultrathin Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Long Li

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The characteristics of ferroelectric capacitors with poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethlene (P(VDF-TrFE films have been studied at different structures of cell electrodes. It is suggested that the effect of electrode structures could induce changes of performance. Remarkably, cells with line electrodes display a better polarization and fatigue resistance than those with flat electrodes. For P(VDF-TrFE ultrathin films with different electrode structures, the models of charge compensation mechanism for depolarization field and domain fatigue decomposition are used to explain the effect of electrode structure. Furthermore, the driving voltage based on normal speed-functionality is designed, and the testing results show that the line electrode structure could induce a robust switching, which is determined by the free charges concentration in active layer. These findings provide an effective route to design the optimum structure for a ferroelectric capacitor based on P(VDF-TrFE copolymer ultrathin film.

  9. Integration and High-Temperature Characterization of Ferroelectric Vanadium-Doped Bismuth Titanate Thin Films on Silicon Carbide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekström, Mattias; Khartsev, Sergiy; Östling, Mikael; Zetterling, Carl-Mikael

    2017-07-01

    4H-SiC electronics can operate at high temperature (HT), e.g., 300°C to 500°C, for extended times. Systems using sensors and amplifiers that operate at HT would benefit from microcontrollers which can also operate at HT. Microcontrollers require nonvolatile memory (NVM) for computer programs. In this work, we demonstrate the possibility of integrating ferroelectric vanadium-doped bismuth titanate (BiTV) thin films on 4H-SiC for HT memory applications, with BiTV ferroelectric capacitors providing memory functionality. Film deposition was achieved by laser ablation on Pt (111)/TiO2/4H-SiC substrates, with magnetron-sputtered Pt used as bottom electrode and thermally evaporated Au as upper contacts. Film characterization by x-ray diffraction analysis revealed predominately (117) orientation. P- E hysteresis loops measured at room temperature showed maximum 2 P r of 48 μC/cm2, large enough for wide read margins. P- E loops were measurable up to 450°C, with losses limiting measurements above 450°C. The phase-transition temperature was determined to be about 660°C from the discontinuity in dielectric permittivity, close to what is achieved for ceramics. These BiTV ferroelectric capacitors demonstrate potential for use in HT NVM applications for SiC digital electronics.

  10. Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric properties of (111) oriented lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dutta, Soma, E-mail: som@nal.res.in; Antony Jeyaseelan, A.; Sruthi, S.

    2014-07-01

    Lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) thick film with molecular formula of Pb{sub 0.92}La{sub 0.08}(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}){sub 0.98}O{sub 3} was grown preferentially along (111) direction on Pt/SiO{sub 2}/Si (platinum/silicon oxide/silicon) substrate by spin coating of chemical solution. The directional growth of the film was facilitated by platinum (Pt) (111) template and rapid thermal annealing. X-ray diffraction pattern and atomic force microscopy revealed the preferential growth of the PLZT film. The film was characterized for ferroelectric and detailed piezoelectric properties in a parallel plate capacitor (metal–PLZT–metal) configuration. Ferroelectric characterization of the film showed saturated hysteresis loop with remanent polarization and coercive electric field values of 10.14 μC/cm{sup 2} and 42 kV/cm, respectively, at an applied field of 300 kV/cm. Longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d{sub 33,f}) was measured by employing converse piezoelectric effect where electrical charge response and displacement were measured with electrical voltage excitation on the sample electrodes. The effective transverse piezoelectric coefficient (e{sub 31,f}) was derived from charge measurement with an applied mechanical excitation strain by using the four point bending method. d{sub 33,f} and e{sub 31,f} coefficients of PLZT films were found to be 380 pm/V and − 0.831 C/m{sup 2} respectively. - Highlights: • PLZT (111) film is prepared by spin coating of chemical sol on Pt (111) template. • Piezoelectric d{sub 33} value (380 pm/V) of PLZT film is found 20% higher than PZT. • Transverse piezocoefficient e{sub 31,f} of PLZT film is reported for the first time.

  11. The effect of K and Na excess on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, C. W.; Y Lee, S.; Lee, H. J.; Ullah, A.; Bae, J. S.; Jeong, E. D.; Choi, J. S.; Park, B. H.; Kim, I. W.

    2009-11-01

    We have fabricated K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) thin films on Pt substrates by a chemical solution deposition method and investigated the effect of K and Na excess (0-30 mol%) on ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of KNN thin film. It was found that with increasing K and Na excess in a precursor solution from 0 to 30 mol%, the leakage current and ferroelectric properties were strongly affected. KNN thin film synthesized by using 20 mol% K and Na excess precursor solution exhibited a low leakage current density and well saturated ferroelectric P-E hysteresis loops. Moreover, the optimized KNN thin film had good fatigue resistance and a piezoelectric constant of 40 pm V-1, which is comparable to that of polycrystalline PZT thin films.

  12. The effect of K and Na excess on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, C W; Bae, J S; Jeong, E D; Lee, S Y; Lee, H J; Ullah, A; Kim, I W; Choi, J S; Park, B H

    2009-01-01

    We have fabricated K 0.5 Na 0.5 NbO 3 (KNN) thin films on Pt substrates by a chemical solution deposition method and investigated the effect of K and Na excess (0-30 mol%) on ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of KNN thin film. It was found that with increasing K and Na excess in a precursor solution from 0 to 30 mol%, the leakage current and ferroelectric properties were strongly affected. KNN thin film synthesized by using 20 mol% K and Na excess precursor solution exhibited a low leakage current density and well saturated ferroelectric P-E hysteresis loops. Moreover, the optimized KNN thin film had good fatigue resistance and a piezoelectric constant of 40 pm V -1 , which is comparable to that of polycrystalline PZT thin films.

  13. Imaging Local Polarization in Ferroelectric Thin Films by Coherent X-Ray Bragg Projection Ptychography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruszkewycz, S. O.; Highland, M. J.; Holt, M. V.; Kim, Dongjin; Folkman, C. M.; Thompson, Carol; Tripathi, A.; Stephenson, G. B.; Hong, Seungbum; Fuoss, P. H.

    2013-04-01

    We used x-ray Bragg projection ptychography (BPP) to map spatial variations of ferroelectric polarization in thin film PbTiO3, which exhibited a striped nanoscale domain pattern on a high-miscut (001) SrTiO3 substrate. By converting the reconstructed BPP phase image to picometer-scale ionic displacements in the polar unit cell, a quantitative polarization map was made that was consistent with other characterization. The spatial resolution of 5.7 nm demonstrated here establishes BPP as an important tool for nanoscale ferroelectric domain imaging, especially in complex environments accessible with hard x rays.

  14. Giant quadratic electro-optical effect during polarization switching in ultrathin ferroelectric polymer films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blinov, L. M., E-mail: lev39blinov@gmail.com; Lazarev, V V; Palto, S P; Yudin, S G [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation)

    2012-04-15

    The low-frequency quadratic electro-optical effect with a maximum electro-optical coefficient of g = 8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -19} m{sup 2}/V{sup 2} (i.e., four orders of magnitude greater than the standard high-frequency value) has been studied in thin films of ferroelectric polymer PVDF(70%)-TrFE(30%). The observed effect is related to the process of spontaneous polarization switching, during which the electron oscillators of C-F and C-H dipole groups rotate to become parallel to the applied field. As a result, the ellipsoid of the refractive index exhibits narrowing in the direction perpendicular to the field. The field dependence of the electro-optical coefficient g correlates with that of the apparent dielectric permittivity, which can be introduced under the condition of ferroelectric polarization switching. The observed electro-optical effect strongly decreases when the frequency increases up to several hundred hertz. The temperature dependence of the effect exhibits clearly pronounced hysteresis in the region of the ferroelectric phase transition.

  15. Sensitivity Enhancement in Magnetic Sensors Based on Ferroelectric-Bimorphs and Multiferroic Composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gollapudi Sreenivasulu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Multiferroic composites with ferromagnetic and ferroelectric phases have been studied in recent years for use as sensors of AC and DC magnetic fields. Their operation is based on magneto-electric (ME coupling between the electric and magnetic subsystems and is mediated by mechanical strain. Such sensors for AC magnetic fields require a bias magnetic field to achieve pT-sensitivity. Novel magnetic sensors with a permanent magnet proof mass, either on a ferroelectric bimorph or a ferromagnetic-ferroelectric composite, are discussed. In both types, the interaction between the applied AC magnetic field and remnant magnetization of the magnet results in a mechanical strain and a voltage response in the ferroelectric. Our studies have been performed on sensors with a Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet proof mass on (i a bimorph of oppositely-poled lead zirconate titanate (PZT platelets and (ii a layered multiferroic composite of PZT-Metglas-Ni. The sensors have been characterized in terms of sensitivity and equivalent magnetic noise N. Noise N in both type of sensors is on the order of 200 pT/√Hz at 1 Hz, a factor of 10 improvement compared to multiferroic sensors without a proof mass. When the AC magnetic field is applied at the bending resonance for the bimorph, the measured N ≈ 700 pT/√Hz. We discuss models based on magneto-electro-mechanical coupling at low frequency and bending resonance in the sensors and theoretical estimates of ME voltage coefficients are in very good agreement with the data.

  16. Sensitivity Enhancement in Magnetic Sensors Based on Ferroelectric-Bimorphs and Multiferroic Composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sreenivasulu, Gollapudi; Qu, Peng; Petrov, Vladimir; Qu, Hongwei; Srinivasan, Gopalan

    2016-02-20

    Multiferroic composites with ferromagnetic and ferroelectric phases have been studied in recent years for use as sensors of AC and DC magnetic fields. Their operation is based on magneto-electric (ME) coupling between the electric and magnetic subsystems and is mediated by mechanical strain. Such sensors for AC magnetic fields require a bias magnetic field to achieve pT-sensitivity. Novel magnetic sensors with a permanent magnet proof mass, either on a ferroelectric bimorph or a ferromagnetic-ferroelectric composite, are discussed. In both types, the interaction between the applied AC magnetic field and remnant magnetization of the magnet results in a mechanical strain and a voltage response in the ferroelectric. Our studies have been performed on sensors with a Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet proof mass on (i) a bimorph of oppositely-poled lead zirconate titanate (PZT) platelets and (ii) a layered multiferroic composite of PZT-Metglas-Ni. The sensors have been characterized in terms of sensitivity and equivalent magnetic noise N. Noise N in both type of sensors is on the order of 200 pT/√Hz at 1 Hz, a factor of 10 improvement compared to multiferroic sensors without a proof mass. When the AC magnetic field is applied at the bending resonance for the bimorph, the measured N ≈ 700 pT/√Hz. We discuss models based on magneto-electro-mechanical coupling at low frequency and bending resonance in the sensors and theoretical estimates of ME voltage coefficients are in very good agreement with the data.

  17. Orientation control and domain structure analysis of {100}-oriented epitaxial ferroelectric orthorhombic HfO{sub 2}-based thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katayama, Kiliha [Department of Innovative and Engineered Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan); Shimizu, Takao [Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Sakata, Osami [Synchrotron X-ray Station at SPring-8, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan); Shiraishi, Takahisa; Nakamura, Shogo; Kiguchi, Takanori; Akama, Akihiro; Konno, Toyohiko J. [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Uchida, Hiroshi [Department of Materials and Life Sciences, Sophia University, Chiyoda, Tokyo 102-8554 (Japan); Funakubo, Hiroshi, E-mail: funakubo.h.aa@m.titech.ac.jp [Department of Innovative and Engineered Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502 (Japan); Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan)

    2016-04-07

    Orientation control of {100}-oriented epitaxial orthorhombic 0.07YO{sub 1.5}-0.93HfO{sub 2} films grown by pulsed laser deposition was investigated. To achieve in-plane lattice matching, indium tin oxide (ITO) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were selected as underlying layers. We obtained (100)- and (001)/(010)-oriented films on ITO and YSZ, respectively. Ferroelastic domain formation was confirmed for both films by X-ray diffraction using the superlattice diffraction that appeared only for the orthorhombic symmetry. The formation of ferroelastic domains is believed to be induced by the tetragonal–orthorhombic phase transition upon cooling the films after deposition. The present results demonstrate that the orientation of HfO{sub 2}-based ferroelectric films can be controlled in the same manner as that of ferroelectric films composed of conventional perovskite-type material such as Pb(Zr, Ti)O{sub 3} and BiFeO{sub 3}.

  18. Polarization retention loss in PbTiO3 ferroelectric films due to leakage currents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Morelli, A.; Venkatesan, Sriram; Palasantzas, G.; Kooi, B. J.; De Hosson, J. Th. M.

    2007-01-01

    The relationship between retention loss in single crystal PbTiO3 ferroelectric thin films and leakage currents is demonstrated by piezoresponse and conductive atomic force microscopy measurements. It was found that the polarization reversal in the absence of an electric field followed a stretched

  19. Wake-up effects in Si-doped hafnium oxide ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Dayu; Xu, Jin; Li, Qing; Guan, Yan; Cao, Fei; Dong, Xianlin; Müller, Johannes; Schenk, Tony; Schröder, Uwe

    2013-01-01

    Hafnium oxide based ferroelectric thin films have shown potential as a promising alternative material for non-volatile memory applications. This work reports the switching stability of a Si-doped HfO 2 film under bipolar pulsed-field operation. High field cycling causes a “wake-up” in virgin “pinched” polarization hysteresis loops, demonstrated by an enhancement in remanent polarization and a shift of negative coercive voltage. The rate of wake-up is accelerated by either reducing the frequency or increasing the amplitude of the cycling field. We suggest de-pinning of domains due to reduction of the defect concentration at bottom electrode interface as origin of the wake-up

  20. Surface topography and crystal and domain structures of films of ferroelectric copolymer of vinylidene difluoride and trifluoroethylene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kochervinskii, V. V., E-mail: kochval@mail.ru [Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, Branch (Russian Federation); Kiselev, D. A.; Malinkovich, M. D. [National University of Science and Technology MISiS (Russian Federation); Korlyukov, A. A.; Lokshin, B. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds (Russian Federation); Volkov, V. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics” (Russian Federation); Kirakosyan, G. A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (Russian Federation); Pavlov, A. S. [Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, Branch (Russian Federation)

    2017-03-15

    The crystallization of a copolymer from a solution at room temperature is found to lead to the formation of a metastable structure, characterized by the coexistence of ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. The fraction of the latter decreases after annealing above the Curie point. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has revealed a difference in the surface topographies between the films contacting with air and the films contacting with a glass substrate. The microstructure of copolymer chains has been investigated by {sup 19}F NMR spectroscopy. The chain fragments with “defect” attached monomeric units are ejected to the surface. The character of the ferroelectric domains formed during crystallization and their size distribution are analyzed.

  1. Aggregate linear properties of ferroelectric ceramics and polycrystalline thin films: Calculation by the method of effective piezoelectric medium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pertsev, N. A.; Zembilgotov, A. G.; Waser, R.

    1998-08-01

    The effective dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic constants of polycrystalline ferroelectric materials are calculated from single-crystal data by an advanced method of effective medium, which takes into account the piezoelectric interactions between grains in full measure. For bulk BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polarized ceramics, the dependences of material constants on the remanent polarization are reported. Dielectric and elastic constants are computed also for unpolarized c- and a-textured ferroelectric thin films deposited on cubic or amorphous substrates. It is found that the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polycrystalline thin films strongly depend on the type of crystal texture. The influence of two-dimensional clamping by the substrate on the dielectric and piezoelectric responses of polarized films is described quantitatively and shown to be especially important for the piezoelectric charge coefficient of BaTiO3 films.

  2. Nanoscale Ferroelectric Switchable Polarization and Leakage Current Behavior in (Ba0.50Sr0.50(Ti0.80Sn0.20O3 Thin Films Prepared Using Chemical Solution Deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venkata Sreenivas Puli

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Nanoscale switchable ferroelectric (Ba0.50Sr0.50(Ti0.80Sn0.20O3-BSTS polycrystalline thin films with a perovskite structure were prepared on Pt/TiOx/SiO2/Si substrate by chemical solution deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD spectra indicate that a cubic perovskite crystalline structure and Raman spectra revealed that a tetragonal perovskite crystalline structure is present in the thin films. Sr2+ and Sn4+ cosubstituted film exhibited the lowest leakage current density. Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM technique has been employed to acquire out-of-plane (OPP piezoresponse images and local piezoelectric hysteresis loop in polycrystalline BSTS films. PFM phase and amplitude images reveal nanoscale ferroelectric switching behavior at room temperature. Square patterns with dark and bright contrasts were written by local poling and reversible nature of the piezoresponse behavior was established. Local piezoelectric butterfly amplitude and phase hysteresis loops display ferroelectric nature at nanoscale level. The significance of this paper is to present ferroelectric/piezoelectric nature in present BSTS films at nanoscale level and corroborating ferroelectric behavior by utilizing Raman spectroscopy. Thus, further optimizing physical and electrical properties, BSTS films might be useful for practical applications which include nonvolatile ferroelectric memories, data-storage media, piezoelectric actuators, and electric energy storage capacitors.

  3. Tunability of resonance frequencies in a superconducting microwave resonator by using SrTiO sub 3 ferroelectric films

    CERN Document Server

    Sok, J; Lee, E H

    1998-01-01

    An applied dc voltage varies the dielectric constant of ferroelectric SrTiO sub 3 films. A tuning mechanism for superconducting microwave resonators was realized by using the variation in the dielectric constant of SrTiO sub 3 films. In order to estimate the values of the capacitance, C, and the loss tangent, tan delta, of SrTiO sub 3 ferroelectric capacitors, we used high-temperature superconducting microwave resonators which were composed of two ports, two poles, and dc bias circuits at the zero-field points. SrTiO sub 3 ferroelectric capacitors successfully controlled the resonant frequency of the resonator. Resonant frequencies of 3.98 GHz and 4.20 GHz were measured at bias voltages of 0 V and 50 V which correspond to capacitance values of 0.94 pF and 0.7pF, respectively. The values of the loss tangent, tan delta sub e sub f sub f , obtained in this measurements, were about 0.01.

  4. Structure-Function Relationships of Ferroelectric Polymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlopoulou, Eleni; Maiz, Jon; Spampinato, Nicoletta; Maglione, Mario; Hadziioannou, Georges

    Poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, and its copolymers with trifluoroethylene, P(VDF-co-TrFE) have been long appreciated for their excellent ferroelectric properties. Although they have been mainly studied in the 80s and 90s, understanding their performance is still lacking. Yet the increasing use of P(VDF-co-TrFE) thin films in organic electronic devices during the last ten years revives the need for apprehending the function of these materials. In this work we investigate the structure of P(VDF-co-TrFE) films and correlate it to their ferroelectric properties. Our results show that ferroelectric performance is solely driven by the fraction of polymer that has been crystallized in the ferroelectric phases of PVDF. The relations between remnant polarization, coercive field and dipole switching rate of P(VDF-co-TrFE) with the ferroelectric crystallinity are demonstrated. The French Research Agency (ANR), the Aquitaine Region, Arkema and STMicroelectronics are kindly acknowledged for financial support.

  5. Anelastic deformation of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films by non-180 deg. ferroelectric domain wall movements during nanoindentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alguero, M.; Bushby, A.J.; Reece, M.J.; Seifert, A.

    2002-01-01

    Lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 ferroelectric thin films show significant anelastic deformation when indented with spherical tipped indenters. Experiments on films with different Zr/Ti ratio and a mixed , preferred crystallographic orientation have shown that there is a good agreement between the anelastic deformation and the maximum strain achievable by non-180 deg. domain wall movement. An expected increase of the indentation stiffness of the films also accompanies the anelastic deformation because of the single crystal elastic anisotropy. All these observations seem to indicate that non-180 deg. ferroelectric domain wall movements occur under indentation stresses and cause anelasticity. Stresses for maximum anelastic deformation are compared with those for recently reported stress-induced depolarization

  6. Size effects on structural and dielectric properties of PZT thin films at compositions around the morpho tropic phase boundary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, Elton Carvalho; Araujo, Eudes Borges; Souza Filho, Antonio Gomes de; Bdikin, Igor

    2011-01-01

    Full text: The demand for portability in consumer electronics has motivated the understanding of size effects on ferroelectric thin films. The actual comprehension of these effects in ferroelectrics is unsatisfactory, since the polarization interacts more strongly than other order parameters such as strain and charge. As a result, extrinsic effects are produced if these variables are uncontrolled and problems such as ferroelectric paraelectric phase transition at nanometers scale remains an unsolved issue. In the present work, the effects of thickness and compositional fractions on the structural and dielectric properties of PbZr 1-x Ti x O 3 (PZT) thin films were studied at a composition around the morphotropic phase boundary (x = 0.50). For this purpose, thin films with different thicknesses and different PbO excess were deposited on Si(100) and Pt=T iO 2 =SiO 2 =Si substrates by a chemical method and crystallized in electric furnace at 700 deg C for 1 hour. The effects of substrate, pyrolysis temperature and excess lead addition in the films are reported. For films with 10 mol% PbO in excess, the pyrolysis in the regime of 300 deg C for 30 minutes was observed to yield PZT pyrochlore free thin films deposited on Pt=T iO 2 =SiO 2 =Si substrate. Out this condition, the transformation from amorphous to the pyrochlore metastable phase is kinetically more favorable that a transformation to the perovskite phase, which is thermodynamically stable. Rietveld refinements based on X-ray diffraction results showed that films present a purely tetragonal phase and that this phase does not change when the film thickness decreases. The dielectric permittivity measurements showed a monoclinic → tetragonal phase transition at 198K. Results showed that the dielectric permittivity (ε) increases continuously from 257 to 463, while the thickness of the PZT films increases from 200 to 710 nm. These results suggests that interface pinning centers can be the responsible mechanism by

  7. Misfit strain-film thickness phase diagrams and related electromechanical properties of epitaxial ultra-thin lead zirconate titanate films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Q.Y.; Mahjoub, R. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Alpay, S.P. [Materials Science and Engineering Program and Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States); Nagarajan, V., E-mail: nagarajan@unsw.edu.au [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia)

    2010-02-15

    The phase stability of ultra-thin (0 0 1) oriented ferroelectric PbZr{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 3} (PZT) epitaxial thin films as a function of the film composition, film thickness, and the misfit strain is analyzed using a non-linear Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire thermodynamic model taking into account the electrical and mechanical boundary conditions. The theoretical formalism incorporates the role of the depolarization field as well as the possibility of the relaxation of in-plane strains via the formation of microstructural features such as misfit dislocations at the growth temperature and ferroelastic polydomain patterns below the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transformation temperature. Film thickness-misfit strain phase diagrams are developed for PZT films with four different compositions (x = 1, 0.9, 0.8 and 0.7) as a function of the film thickness. The results show that the so-called rotational r-phase appears in a very narrow range of misfit strain and thickness of the film. Furthermore, the in-plane and out-of-plane dielectric permittivities {epsilon}{sub 11} and {epsilon}{sub 33}, as well as the out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficients d{sub 33} for the PZT thin films, are computed as a function of misfit strain, taking into account substrate-induced clamping. The model reveals that previously predicted ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficients due to misfit-strain-induced phase transitions are practically achievable only in an extremely narrow range of film thickness, composition and misfit strain parameter space. We also show that the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of epitaxial ferroelectric films can be tailored through strain engineering and microstructural optimization.

  8. Improving information density in ferroelectric polymer films by using nanoimprinted gratings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Tong, Daniel E.; Soccio, Michela; Rueda, Daniel R.; Nogales, Aurora; García-Gutiérrez, Mari Cruz; Ezquerra, Tiberio A.

    2015-03-01

    The development of polymer non-volatile memories depends on the effective fabrication of devices with high density of information. Well-defined low aspect ratio nanogratings on thin films of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers can be fabricated by using Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL). By using these nanogratings, an improved management of writing and reading information can be reached as revealed by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM). Structural investigation by means of Grazing Incidence X-ray (GIX) scattering techniques indicates that the physical confinement generated by nanoimprint promotes the development of smaller and edge-on oriented crystals. Our results evidence that one-dimensional nanostructuring can be a straightforward approach to improve the control of the polarization in ferroelectric polymer thin films.

  9. Computational study of textured ferroelectric polycrystals: Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of template-matrix composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jie E.; Yan, Yongke; Priya, Shashank; Wang, Yu U.

    2017-01-01

    Quantitative relationships between processing, microstructure, and properties in textured ferroelectric polycrystals and the underlying responsible mechanisms are investigated by phase field modeling and computer simulation. This study focuses on three important aspects of textured ferroelectric ceramics: (i) grain microstructure evolution during templated grain growth processing, (ii) crystallographic texture development as a function of volume fraction and seed size of the templates, and (iii) dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the obtained template-matrix composites of textured polycrystals. Findings on the third aspect are presented here, while an accompanying paper of this work reports findings on the first two aspects. In this paper, the competing effects of crystallographic texture and template seed volume fraction on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of ferroelectric polycrystals are investigated. The phase field model of ferroelectric composites consisting of template seeds embedded in matrix grains is developed to simulate domain evolution, polarization-electric field (P-E), and strain-electric field (ɛ-E) hysteresis loops. The coercive field, remnant polarization, dielectric permittivity, piezoelectric coefficient, and dissipation factor are studied as a function of grain texture and template seed volume fraction. It is found that, while crystallographic texture significantly improves the polycrystal properties towards those of single crystals, a higher volume fraction of template seeds tends to decrease the electromechanical properties, thus canceling the advantage of ferroelectric polycrystals textured by templated grain growth processing. This competing detrimental effect is shown to arise from the composite effect, where the template phase possesses material properties inferior to the matrix phase, causing mechanical clamping and charge accumulation at inter-phase interfaces between matrix and template inclusions. The computational

  10. Hierarchy and scaling behavior of multi-rank domain patterns in ferroelectric K0.9Na0.1NbO3 strained films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Dorothee; Schmidbauer, Martin; Hanke, Michael; Schwarzkopf, Jutta

    2018-01-01

    The formation process of a ferroelectric multi-rank domain pattern in the thickness range of 7-52 nm is investigated for monoclinic K0.9Na0.1NbO3 strained epitaxial films on (110) NdScO3 substrates. Although the elastic strain energy density is degenerated for two pseudocubic orientations, a distinctive hierarchy of domain evolution is observed with exclusive in-plane a1a2 domains for very thin films and the retarded onset of a ferroelectric MC phase at larger film thickness. This is accompanied by a thickness dependent transformation from stripe domains to a herringbone pattern and, eventually, for the thickest film, to a checkerboard-like structure. These transformations in the domain arrangement and width are correlated to energetic aspects as depolarization field and anisotropic strain relaxation in the film. While for the MC domains plastic strain relaxation is throughout observed, the a1a2 domains show a two-step strain relaxation mechanism starting with an in-plane elastic shearing, which is followed by plastic lattice relaxation. Our results highlight a pathway for engineering and patterning of periodic ferroelectric domain structures.

  11. Preparation of Ferroelectric Thin Films of Bismuth Layer Structured Compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Hitoshi; Mihara, Takashi; Yoshimori, Hiroyuki; Araujo, Carlos

    1995-09-01

    Ferroelectric thin films of bismuth layer structured compounds, SrBi2Ta2O9, SrBi2Nb2O9, SrBi4Ti4O15 and their solid solutions, were formed onto a sputtered platinum layer on a silicon substrate using spin-on technique and metal-organic decomposition (MOD) method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and some electrical measurements were performed on the prepared thin films. XRD results of SrBi2(Ta1- x, Nb x)2O9 films (0≤x≤1) showed that niobium ions substitute for tantalum ions in an arbitrary ratio without any change of the layer structure and lattice constants. Furthermore, XRD results of SrBi2 xTa2O9 films (0≤x≤1.5) indicated that the formation of the bismuth layer structure does not always require an accurate bismuth content. The layer structure was formed above 50% of the stoichiometric bismuth content in the general formula. SrBi2(Ta1- x, Nb x)2O9 films with various Ta/Nb ratios have large enough remanent polarization for nonvolatile memory application and have shown high fatigue resistance against 1011 cycles of full switching of the remanent polarization. Mixture films of the three compounds were also investigated.

  12. Effects of annealing temperature on the structures, ferroelectric and magnetic properties of Aurivillius Bi5Ti3FeO15 polycrystalline films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai, W.; Zhu, J.Y.; Wang, J.L.; Lin, T.; Yang, J.; Meng, X.J.; Tang, X.D.; Zhu, Z.Q.; Chu, J.H

    2012-01-01

    The effects of annealing temperature on the structures, ferroelectric and magnetic properties of Aurivillius layer-structured Bi 5 Ti 3 FeO 15 (BTF) films were investigated. It was found that an annealing temperature above 625 °C can lead to the appearance of Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 (BiT) secondary phase on Pt substrates. The reduction of the grain sizes was simultaneously confirmed by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy with the introduction of the BiT phase. Moreover, the remanent polarization and coercive field of the BTF films were dramatically enhanced with the introduction of the BiT phase. Improved ferromagnetism for the BTF films was demonstrated upon increasing annealing temperature. Our data indicated that the ferroelectricity strongly correlated with the growth orientation of the BTF films. Finally, the possible factors for the obvious increase of the remanent polarization and coercive field, and the possible reasons for the enhanced ferromagnetic properties were discussed with increasing annealing temperature. - Highlights: ► Effects of annealing temperature on physical properties of BTF films were studied. ► Improved multiferroic properties were shown with annealing temperature. ► Ferroelectricity strongly depended on the growth orientation of the BTF films. ► Possible factors were proposed to explain the improved multiferroic properties.

  13. Origin of thermally stable ferroelectricity in a porous barium titanate thin film synthesized through block copolymer templating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norihiro Suzuki

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available A porous barium titanate (BaTiO3 thin film was chemically synthesized using a surfactant-assisted sol-gel method in which micelles of amphipathic diblock copolymers served as structure-directing agents. In the Raman spectrum of the porous BaTiO3 thin film, a peak corresponding to the ferroelectric tetragonal phase was observed at around 710 cm−1, and it remained stable at much higher temperature than the Curie temperature of bulk single-crystal BaTiO3 (∼130 °C. Measurements revealed that the ferroelectricity of the BaTiO3 thin film has high thermal stability. By analyzing high-resolution transmission electron microscope images of the BaTiO3 thin film by the fast Fourier transform mapping method, the spatial distribution of stress in the BaTiO3 framework was clearly visualized. Careful analysis also indicated that the porosity in the BaTiO3 thin film introduced anisotropic compressive stress, which deformed the crystals. The resulting elongated unit cell caused further displacement of the Ti4+ cation from the center of the lattice. This displacement increased the electric dipole moment of the BaTiO3 thin film, effectively enhancing its ferro(piezoelectricity.

  14. Far infrared and terahertz spectroscopy of ferroelectric soft modes in thin films: a review

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Petzelt, Jan; Kamba, Stanislav

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 503, č. 1 (2016), s. 19-44 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-08389S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : soft mode * central mode * ferroelectric thin film * terahertz spectroscopy * far-infrared spectroscopy Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.551, year: 2016

  15. Ferroelectric materials and their applications

    CERN Document Server

    Xu, Y

    2013-01-01

    This book presents the basic physical properties, structure, fabrication methods and applications of ferroelectric materials. These are widely used in various devices, such as piezoelectric/electrostrictive transducers and actuators, pyroelectric infrared detectors, optical integrated circuits, optical data storage, display devices, etc. The ferroelectric materials described in this book include a relatively complete list of practical and promising ferroelectric single crystals, bulk ceramics and thin films. Included are perovskite-type, lithium niobate, tungsten-bronze-type, water-soluable

  16. Homo-junction ferroelectric field-effect-transistor memory device using solution-processed lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Nayak, Pradipta K.; Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.; Bhansali, Unnat. S.; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2012-01-01

    High performance homo-junction field-effect transistor memory devices were prepared using solution processed transparent lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films for both the ferroelectric and semiconducting active layers. A highest field-effect mobility

  17. Electrostatic micromotor based on ferroelectric ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baginsky, I. L.; Kostsov, E. G.

    2004-11-01

    A new electrostatic micromotor is described that utilizes the electromechanical energy conversion principle earlier described by the authors. The electromechanical energy conversion is based on reversible electrostatic rolling of thin metallic films (petals) on a ferroelectric surface. The motor's active media are layers of ferroelectric ceramics (about 100 µm in thickness). The characteristics of the electrostatic rolling of the petals on different ceramic surfaces are studied, as well as the dynamic characteristics of the micromotors. It is shown that the use of antiferroelectric material allows one to reach a specific energy capacitance comparable to that of the micromotors based on ferroelectric films and to achieve a specific power of 30-300 µW mm-2.

  18. Ferroelectrics onto silicon prepared by chemical solution deposition methods: from the thin film to the self-assembled systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Calzada, M. L.

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The work of the authors during the last years on ferroelectric thin and ultra-thin films deposited by Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD onto silicon based substrates is reviewed in this paper. Ferroelectric layers integrated with silicon substrates have potential use in the new micro/nanoelectronic devices. Two hot issues are here considered: 1 the use of low processing temperatures of the ferroelectric film, with the objective of not producing any damage on the different elements of the device heterostructure, and 2 the downscaling of the ferroelectric material with the aim of achieving the high densities of integration required in the next generation of nanoelectronic devices. The UV-assisted Rapid Thermal Processing has successfully been used in our laboratory for the fabrication of ferroelectric films at low temperatures. Preliminary results on the CSD preparation of nanosized ferroelectric structures are shown.

    Este artículo revisa el trabajo realizado por los autores durante los últimos años sobre lámina delgada y ultra-delgada ferroeléctrica preparada mediante el depósito químico de disoluciones (CSD sobre substratos de silicio. Las películas ferroeléctricas integradas con silicio tienen potenciales usos en los nuevos dispositivos micro/nanoelectrónicos. Dos aspectos claves son aquí considerados: 1 el uso de bajas temperaturas de procesado de la lámina ferroeléctrica, con el fin de no dañar los diferentes elementos que forman la heteroestructura del dispositivo y 2 la disminución de tamaño del material ferroeléctrico con el fin de conseguir las altas densidades de integración requeridas en la próxima generación de dispositivos nanoelectróncos. Los procesos térmicos rápidos asistidos con irradiación UV se están usando en nuestro laboratorio para conseguir la fabricación del material ferroeléctrico a temperaturas bajas compatibles con la tecnología del silicio. Se muestran resultados preliminares sobre

  19. Combined effect of preferential orientation and Zr/Ti atomic ratio on electrical properties of Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gong Wen; Li Jingfeng; Chu Xiangcheng; Gui Zhilun; Li Longtu

    2004-01-01

    Lead zirconate titanate [Pb(Zr x Ti 1-x )O 3 , PZT] thin films with various compositions, whose Zr/Ti ratio were varied as 40/60, 48/52, 47/53, and 60/40, were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO 2 /Si substrates by sol-gel method. A seeding layer was introduced between the PZT layer and the bottom electrode to control the texture of overlaid PZT thin films. A single perovskite PZT thin film with absolute (100) texture was obtained, when lead oxide was used as the seeding crystal, whereas titanium dioxide resulted in highly [111]-oriented PZT films. The dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT films with different preferential orientations were evaluated systemically as a function of composition. The maximums of relative dielectric constant were obtained in the morphotropic phase boundary region for both (100)- and (111)-textured PZT films. The ferroelectric properties also greatly depend on films' texture and composition. The intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to dielectric and ferroelectric properties were discussed

  20. Growth of strained, ferroelectric NaNbO{sub 3} thin films by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sellmann, Jan; Schwarzkopf, Jutta; Duk, Andreas; Kwasniewski, Albert; Schmidbauer, Martin; Fornari, Roberto [IKZ, Berlin (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    Due to its promising ferro-/piezoelectric properties and high Curie temperature NaNbO{sub 3} has attracted much attention. In contrast to bulk crystals, thin epitaxial films may incorporate and maintain a certain compressive or tensile lattice strain, depending on the used substrate/film combination. This deformation of the crystal lattice is known to strongly influence the ferroelectric properties of perovskites. In the case of NaNbO{sub 3} compressive strain is achieved in films deposited on NdGaO{sub 3} and SrTiO{sub 3} substrates while deposition on DyScO{sub 3} and TbScO{sub 3} leads to tensile in-plane strain. In order to characterize and practically apply the ferroelectric films, it is necessary to embed them in a capacitor structure for which we use pseudomorphically grown SrRuO{sub 3} as bottom electrodes. We report on the deposition of SrRuO{sub 3} and NaNbO{sub 3} single layers on SrTiO{sub 3}, DyScO{sub 3}, TbScO{sub 3} and NbGaO{sub 3} substrates by means of pulsed laser deposition. By adjusting the substrate temperature, the oxygen partial pressure and the laser frequency we have successfully deposited smooth, strained, single phase NaNbO{sub 3} thin films. Investigations of the films by atomic force microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction reveal the dependence of the surface morphology and the incorporated lattice strain on the deposition parameters and the lattice mismatch, respectively. All films exhibit piezoelectric properties, as proven by piezoresponse force microscopy.

  1. Effects of ferroelectric-poling-induced strain on the electronic transport and magnetic properties of (001)- and (111)-oriented La{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, X.Y. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Zheng, M.; Zhu, Q.X.; Yang, M.M.; Li, X.M.; Shi, X. [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Yuan, G.L., E-mail: yuanguoliang@mail.njust.edu.cn [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094 (China); Wang, Y.; Chan, H.L.W. [Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Li, X.G. [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Luo, H.S. [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Zheng, R.K., E-mail: zrk@ustc.edu [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China)

    2014-04-01

    We epitaxially grew La{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} (LBMO) films on (001)- and (111)-oriented ferroelectric single-crystal substrates and reduced the in-plane tensile strain of LBMO films by poling the ferroelectric substrates along the 〈001〉 or 〈111〉 direction. Upon poling, a large decrease in the resistance and a considerable increase in the magnetization, Curie temperature, and magnetoresistance were observed for the LBMO film, which are driven by interface strain coupling. Such strain effects can be significantly enhanced by the application of a magnetic field. An overall analysis of the findings reveals that the mutual interaction between the strain and the magnetic field is mediated by the electronic phase separation which is sensitive to both strain and magnetic field. Our findings highlight that the electronic phase separation is crucial in understanding the electric-field-manipulated strain effects in manganite film/ferroelectric crystal heterostructures. - Highlights: • La{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} films were epitaxially grown on ternary ferroelectric single crystals. • Ferroelectric poling modifies the strain and physical properties of films. • Magnetic field enhances the strain effects of films. • Phase separation is crucial to understand the magnetic-field-tuned strain effect.

  2. Characterizing new compositions of [001]C relaxor ferroelectric single crystals using a work-energy model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, John A.

    2016-04-01

    The desired operating range of ferroelectric materials with compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary is limited by field induced phase transformations. In [001]C cut and poled relaxor ferroelectric single crystals the mechanically driven ferroelectric rhombohedral to ferroelectric orthorhombic phase transformation is hindered by antagonistic electrical loading. Instability around the phase transformation makes the current experimental technique for characterization of the large field behavior very time consuming. Characterization requires specialized equipment and involves an extensive set of measurements under combined electrical, mechanical, and thermal loads. In this work a mechanism-based model is combined with a more limited set of experiments to obtain the same results. The model utilizes a work-energy criterion that calculates the mechanical work required to induce the transformation and the required electrical work that is removed to reverse the transformation. This is done by defining energy barriers to the transformation. The results of the combined experiment and modeling approach are compared to the fully experimental approach and error is discussed. The model shows excellent predictive capability and is used to substantially reduce the total number of experiments required for characterization. This decreases the time and resources required for characterization of new compositions.

  3. Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of (Bi,Na)TiO3–BaTiO3 system studied by high throughput screening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayden, Brian E.; Yakovlev, Sergey

    2016-01-01

    Thin-film materials libraries of the Bi 2 O 3 –Na 2 O–TiO 2 –BaO system in a broad composition range have been deposited in ultra-high vacuum from elemental evaporation sources and an oxygen plasma source. A high throughput approach was used for systematic compositional and structural characterization and the screening of the dielectric and ferroelectric properties. The perovskite (Bi,Na)TiO 3 –BaTiO 3 phase with a Ba concentration near the morphotropic phase boundary (ca. 6 at.%) exhibited a relative dielectric permittivity of 180, a loss tangent of 0.04 and remnant polarization of 19 μC/cm 2 . Compared to published data, observed remnant polarization is close to that known for epitaxially grown films but higher than the values reported for polycrystalline films. The high throughput methodology and systematic nature of the study allowed us to establish the composition boundaries of the phase with optimal dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics. - Highlights: • Bi 2 O 3 –Na 2 O–TiO 2 –BaO high throughput materials library was deposited using PVD method. • Materials were processed from individual molecular beam epitaxy sources of elements. • High throughput approach was used for structural, dielectric and ferroelectric study. • Composition boundaries of perovskite compounds with optimum properties are reported.

  4. Comment on 'extrinsic versus intrinsic ferroelectric switching : experimental investigations using ultra-thin PVDF Langmuir-Blodgett films'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Naber, R.C.G.; Blom, P.W.M.; de Leeuw, DM

    2006-01-01

    Previous work on ultra-thin P(VDF-TrFE) Langmuir-Blodgett films has indicated a transition from extrinsic to intrinsic ferroelectric switching. The lack of several key features of intrinsic switching in the experimental work reported by Kliem et al argues against intrinsic switching. In this Comment

  5. Growth and characterization of epitaxial thin films and multiferroic heterostructures of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Devajyoti

    Multiferroic materials exhibit unique properties such as simultaneous existence of two or more of coupled ferroic order parameters (ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, ferroelasticity or their anti-ferroic counterparts) in a single material. Recent years have seen a huge research interest in multiferroic materials for their potential application as high density non-volatile memory devices. However, the scarcity of these materials in single phase and the weak coupling of their ferroic components have directed the research towards multiferroic heterostructures. These systems operate by coupling the magnetic and electric properties of two materials, generally a ferromagnetic material and a ferroelectric material via strain. In this work, horizontal heterostructures of composite multiferroic materials were grown and characterized using pulsed laser ablation technique. Alternate magnetic and ferroelectric layers of cobalt ferrite and lead zirconium titanate, respectively, were fabricated and the coupling effect was studied by X-ray stress analysis. It was observed that the interfacial stress played an important role in the coupling effect between the phases. Doped zinc oxide (ZnO) heterostructures were also studied where the ferromagnetic phase was a layer of manganese doped ZnO and the ferroelectric phase was a layer of vanadium doped ZnO. For the first time, a clear evidence of possible room temperature magneto-elastic coupling was observed in these heterostructures. This work provides new insight into the stress mediated coupling mechanisms in composite multiferroics.

  6. Controlling the properties of ferroelectric-nickelate interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Matthew S. J.; Malashevich, Andrei; Disa, Ankit; Han, Myung-Geun; Zhu, Yimei; Ismail-Beigi, Sohrab; Walker, Frederick; Ahn, Charles

    2015-03-01

    Ferroelectrics are a class of materials that exhibit a stable, reversible polarization making them useful for non-volatile electronic devices. In devices consisting of thin film ferroelectric PZT acting as a gate and a thin film of the conductive oxide LaNiO3 grown on LaAlO3(001) acting as a channel, we have realized a large change in room temperature channel resistance by switching the ferroelectric polarization. The effect of switching the polarization of the ferroelectric is to modify the electronic structure of the interface between the gate and channel, resulting in conduction in the otherwise insulating ferroelectric. Here, we discuss how changing the epitaxial strain and interface termination of LaNiO3 can result in larger changes in resistivity. The epitaxial strain is varied by growing the devices on LaAlO3 for tensile strain and SrTiO3 for compressive strain. An interface termination of either an atomic layer of NiO2 or LaO is achieved via atomic layering using oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).

  7. Ferroelectrics principles, structure and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Merchant, Serena

    2014-01-01

    Ferroelectric physics is a theory on ferroelectric phase transition for explaining various related phenomena, which is different from dielectric physics. Ferroelectric materials are important functional materials for various applications such as NVRAMs, high energy density capacitors, actuators, MEMs, sonar sensors, microphones and scanning electron microscopes (SEM). This book investigates the dielectric, ferroelectric and energy storage properties of barium zirconate-titanate/barium calcium-titanate (BZT-BCT) based ceramic for high energy density capacitors. It also compares the energy storage capabilities of ceramic powders with polymer-ceramic nanocomposites; and discusses dielectric properties of ferroelectricity in composition distributions.

  8. Ferroelectric-gate field effect transistor memories device physics and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Ishiwara, Hiroshi; Okuyama, Masanori; Sakai, Shigeki; Yoon, Sung-Min

    2016-01-01

    This book provides comprehensive coverage of the materials characteristics, process technologies, and device operations for memory field-effect transistors employing inorganic or organic ferroelectric thin films. This transistor-type ferroelectric memory has interesting fundamental device physics and potentially large industrial impact. Among the various applications of ferroelectric thin films, the development of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) has progressed most actively since the late 1980s and has achieved modest mass production levels for specific applications since 1995. There are two types of memory cells in ferroelectric nonvolatile memories. One is the capacitor-type FeRAM and the other is the field-effect transistor (FET)-type FeRAM. Although the FET-type FeRAM claims ultimate scalability and nondestructive readout characteristics, the capacitor-type FeRAMs have been the main interest for the major semiconductor memory companies, because the ferroelectric FET has fatal handic...

  9. Homo-junction ferroelectric field-effect-transistor memory device using solution-processed lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Nayak, Pradipta K.

    2012-06-22

    High performance homo-junction field-effect transistor memory devices were prepared using solution processed transparent lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films for both the ferroelectric and semiconducting active layers. A highest field-effect mobility of 8.7 cm2/Vs was obtained along with an Ion/Ioff ratio of 106. The ferroelectric thin filmtransistors showed a low sub-threshold swing value of 0.19 V/dec and a significantly reduced device operating voltage (±4 V) compared to the reported hetero-junction ferroelectrictransistors, which is very promising for low-power non-volatile memory applications.

  10. Direct observation of oxygen-vacancy-enhanced polarization in a SrTiO{sub 3}-buffered ferroelectric BaTiO{sub 3} film on GaAs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiao, Qiao [Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240 (United States); Materials Science and Technology Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Zhang, Yuyang [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240 (United States); Materials Science and Technology Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Contreras-Guerrero, Rocio; Droopad, Ravi [Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666 (United States); Pantelides, Sokrates T. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240 (United States); Materials Science and Technology Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240 (United States); Pennycook, Stephen J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575 (Singapore); Ogut, Serdar; Klie, Robert F. [Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607 (United States)

    2015-11-16

    The integration of functional oxide thin-films on compound semiconductors can lead to a class of reconfigurable spin-based optoelectronic devices if defect-free, fully reversible active layers are stabilized. However, previous first-principles calculations predicted that SrTiO{sub 3} thin films grown on Si exhibit pinned ferroelectric behavior that is not switchable, due to the presence of interfacial vacancies. Meanwhile, piezoresponse force microscopy measurements have demonstrated ferroelectricity in BaTiO{sub 3} grown on semiconductor substrates. The presence of interfacial oxygen vacancies in such complex-oxide/semiconductor systems remains unexplored, and their effect on ferroelectricity is controversial. Here, we use a combination of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles density functional theory modeling to examine the role of interfacial oxygen vacancies on the ferroelectric polarization of a BaTiO{sub 3} thin film grown on GaAs. We demonstrate that interfacial oxygen vacancies enhance the polar discontinuity (and thus the single domain, out-of-plane polarization pinning in BaTiO{sub 3}), and propose that the presence of surface charge screening allows the formation of switchable domains.

  11. Upconversion photoluminescence of epitaxial Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} codoped ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} films on silicon substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yang, E-mail: zhangy_acd@hotmail.com [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Kämpfe, Thomas [Institut für Angewandte Physik, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Bai, Gongxun [Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Mietschke, Michael; Yuan, Feifei; Zopf, Michael [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Abel, Stefan [IBM Research GmbH, Saümerstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon (Switzerland); Eng, Lukas M. [Institut für Angewandte Physik, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Hühne, Ruben [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Fompeyrine, Jean [IBM Research GmbH, Saümerstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon (Switzerland); Ding, Fei, E-mail: f.ding@ifw-dresden.de [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Schmidt, Oliver G. [IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Reichenhainer strasse 70, 09107 Chemnitz (Germany)

    2016-05-31

    Thin films of Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} codoped Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} (PZT:Yb/Er) have been epitaxially grown on the SrTiO{sub 3} buffered Si wafer by pulsed laser deposition. Strong upconversion photoluminescence was observed in the PZT:Yb/Er thin film. Using piezoresponse force microscopy, polar domains in the PZT:Yb/Er film can be reversibly switched with a phase change of 180°. Ferroelectric hysteresis loop shape with a well-saturated response was observed. The epitaxially grown lanthanide-doped PZT on silicon opens up a promising route to the integration of luminescent functional oxides on the silicon platform. - Highlights: • Epitaxial growth of Yb{sup 3+}/Er{sup 3+} codoped Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} films on SrTiO{sub 3} buffered silicon • Upconversion emissions were obtained from the lanthanide ion doped thin films. • Saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops were observed. • Polar domains were switched by PFM with a phase change of 180°.

  12. Reversible and nonvolatile ferroelectric control of two-dimensional electronic transport properties of ZrCuSiAs-type copper oxyselenide thin films with a layered structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xu-Wen; Gao, Guan-Yin; Yan, Jian-Min; Chen, Lei; Xu, Meng; Zhao, Wei-Yao; Xu, Zhi-Xue; Guo, Lei; Liu, Yu-Kuai; Li, Xiao-Guang; Wang, Yu; Zheng, Ren-Kui

    2018-05-01

    Copper-based ZrCuSiAs-type compounds of LnCuChO (Ln =Bi and lanthanides, Ch =S , Se, Te) with a layered crystal structure continuously attract worldwide attention in recent years. Although their high-temperature (T ≥ 300 K) electrical properties have been intensively studied, their low-temperature electronic transport properties are little known. In this paper, we report the integration of ZrCuSiAs-type copper oxyselenide thin films of B i0.94P b0.06CuSeO (BPCSO) with perovskite-type ferroelectric Pb (M g1 /3N b2 /3 ) O3-PbTi O3 (PMN-PT) single crystals in the form of ferroelectric field effect devices that allow us to control the electronic properties (e.g., carrier density, magnetoconductance, dephasing length, etc.) of BPCSO films in a reversible and nonvolatile manner by polarization switching at room temperature. Combining ferroelectric gating and magnetotransport measurements with the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka theory, we demonstrate two-dimensional (2D) electronic transport characteristics and weak antilocalization effect as well as strong carrier-density-mediated competition between weak antilocalization and weak localization in BPCSO films. Our results show that ferroelectric gating using PMN-PT provides an effective and convenient approach to probe the carrier-density-related 2D electronic transport properties of ZrCuSiAs-type copper oxyselenide thin films.

  13. Hot plate annealing at a low temperature of a thin ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) film with an improved crystalline structure for sensors and actuators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahdi, Rahman Ismael; Gan, W C; Abd Majid, W H

    2014-10-14

    Ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) copolymer 70/30 thin films are prepared by spin coating. The crystalline structure of these films is investigated by varying the annealing temperature from the ferroelectric phase to the paraelectric phase. A hot plate was used to produce a direct and an efficient annealing effect on the thin film. The dielectric, ferroelectric and pyroelectric properties of the P(VDF-TrFE) thin films are measured as a function of different annealing temperatures (80 to 140 °C). It was found that an annealing temperature of 100 °C (slightly above the Curie temperature, Tc) has induced a highly crystalline β phase with a rod-like crystal structure, as examined by X-ray. Such a crystal structure yields a high remanent polarization, Pr = 94 mC/m2, and pyroelectric constant, p = 24 μC/m2K. A higher annealing temperature exhibits an elongated needle-like crystal domain, resulting in a decrease in the crystalline structure and the functional electrical properties. This study revealed that highly crystalline P(VDF-TrFE) thin films could be induced at 100 °C by annealing the thin film with a simple and cheap method.

  14. Oxygen tracer studies of ferroelectric fatigue in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schloss, Lawrence F.; McIntyre, Paul C.; Hendrix, Bryan C.; Bilodeau, Steven M.; Roeder, Jeffrey F.; Gilbert, Stephen R.

    2002-01-01

    Long-range oxygen motion has been observed in Pt/Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 /Ir thin-film structures after electrical fatigue cycling at room temperature. Through an exchange anneal, isotopic 18 O was incorporated as a tracer into bare Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) films, allowing secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements of the tracer profile evolution as a function of the number of polarization reversals. Observation of 18 O tracer redistribution during voltage cycling, which is presumably mediated by oxygen vacancy motion, was found to be strongly dependent upon the thermal history of the film. However, there was no strong correlation between the extent of 18 O tracer redistribution and the extent of polarization suppression induced by voltage cycling. Our results suggest that oxygen vacancy motion plays, at most, a secondary role in ferroelectric fatigue of PZT thin films

  15. Tunable strain effect and ferroelectric field effect on the electronic transport properties of La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Q. X.; Wang, W.; Zhao, X. Q.; Li, X. M.; Wang, Y.; Luo, H. S.; Chan, H. L. W.; Zheng, R. K.

    2012-05-01

    Tensiled La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 (LSCO) thin films were epitaxially grown on piezoelectric 0.67Pb (Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.33PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) single-crystal substrates. Due to the epitaxial nature of the interface, the lattice strain induced by ferroelectric poling or the converse piezoelectric effect in the PMN-PT substrate is effectively transferred to the LSCO film and thus reduces the tensile strain of the film, giving rise to a decrease in the resistivity of the LSCO film. We discuss these strain effects within the framework of the spin state transition of Co3+ ions and modification of the electronic bandwidth that is relevant to the induced strain. By simultaneously measuring the strain and the resistivity, quantitative relationship between the resistivity and the strain was established for the LSCO film. Both theoretical calculation and experimental results demonstrate that the ferroelectric field effect at room temperature in the LSCO/PMN-PT field-effect transistor is minor and could be neglected. Nevertheless, with decreasing temperature, the ferroelectric field effect competes with the strain effect and plays a more and more important role in influencing the electronic transport properties of the LSCO film, which we interpreted as due to the localization of charge carriers at low temperature.

  16. Dipole pinning effect on photovoltaic characteristics of ferroelectric BiFeO3 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biswas, P. P.; Thirmal, Ch.; Pal, S.; Murugavel, P.

    2018-01-01

    Ferroelectric bismuth ferrite is an attractive candidate for switchable devices. The effect of dipole pinning due to the oxygen vacancy layer on the switching behavior of the BiFeO3 thin film fabricated by the chemical solution deposition method was studied after annealing under air, O2, and N2 environment. The air annealed film showed well defined and dense grains leading to a lower leakage current and superior electrical properties compared to the other two films. The photovoltage and transient photocurrent measured under positive and negative poling elucidated the switching nature of the films. Though the air and O2 annealed films showed a switchable photovoltaic response, the response was severely affected by oxygen vacancies in the N2 annealed film. In addition, the open circuit voltage was found to be mostly dependent on the polarization of BiFeO3 rather than the Schottky barriers at the interface. This work provides an important insight into the effect of dipole pinning caused by oxygen vacancies on the switchable photovoltaic effect of BiFeO3 thin films along with the importance of stoichiometric, defect free, and phase pure samples to facilitate meaningful practical applications.

  17. Effects of Bi doping on dielectric and ferroelectric properties

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    [Pb0.95(La1−Bi)0.05][Zr0.53Ti0.47]O3 (PLBZT) ferroelectric thin films have been synthesized on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass by sol–gel processing. PLBZT thin films were annealed at a relatively low temperature of 550 °C in oxygen ambient. Effects of Bi doping on structure, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of ...

  18. Investigations on the effects of electrode materials on the device characteristics of ferroelectric memory thin film transistors fabricated on flexible substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ji-Hee; Yun, Da-Jeong; Seo, Gi-Ho; Kim, Seong-Min; Yoon, Myung-Han; Yoon, Sung-Min

    2018-03-01

    For flexible memory device applications, we propose memory thin-film transistors using an organic ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] gate insulator and an amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) active channel. The effects of electrode materials and their deposition methods on the characteristics of memory devices exploiting the ferroelectric field effect were investigated for the proposed ferroelectric memory thin-film transistors (Fe-MTFTs) at flat and bending states. It was found that the plasma-induced sputtering deposition and mechanical brittleness of the indium-tin oxide (ITO) markedly degraded the ferroelectric-field-effect-driven memory window and bending characteristics of the Fe-MTFTs. The replacement of ITO electrodes with metal aluminum (Al) electrodes prepared by plasma-free thermal evaporation greatly enhanced the memory device characteristics even under bending conditions owing to their mechanical ductility. Furthermore, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was introduced to achieve robust bending performance under extreme mechanical stress. The Fe-MTFTs using PEDOT:PSS source/drain electrodes were successfully fabricated and showed the potential for use as flexible memory devices. The suitable choice of electrode materials employed for the Fe-MTFTs is concluded to be one of the most important control parameters for highly functional flexible Fe-MTFTs.

  19. Enhanced ferroelectric photoelectrochemical properties of polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} film by decorating with Ag nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Qing; Shen, Mingrong; Fang, Liang, E-mail: lfang@suda.edu.cn [College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Thin Films, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Zhou, Yang; You, Lu; Wang, Junling [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2016-01-11

    Polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) films are fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si(100) substrate as photoelectrode using sol-gel method. The microstructure, optical, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the films are characterized and optimized by controlling the film thickness. Moreover, the PEC properties of the BFO films are dependent on ferroelectric polarization, which is mainly ascribed to the modulation of band structure at the BFO/electrolyte interface by the polarization. Further enhancement of PEC properties is obtained by decorating the samples with appropriate amounts of Ag nanoparticles, which is attributed to the reduced electron-hole recombination, and localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag nanoparticles.

  20. Tunable Microwave Filter Design Using Thin-Film Ferroelectric Varactors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haridasan, Vrinda

    Military, space, and consumer-based communication markets alike are moving towards multi-functional, multi-mode, and portable transceiver units. Ferroelectric-based tunable filter designs in RF front-ends are a relatively new area of research that provides a potential solution to support wideband and compact transceiver units. This work presents design methodologies developed to optimize a tunable filter design for system-level integration, and to improve the performance of a ferroelectric-based tunable bandpass filter. An investigative approach to find the origins of high insertion loss exhibited by these filters is also undertaken. A system-aware design guideline and figure of merit for ferroelectric-based tunable band- pass filters is developed. The guideline does not constrain the filter bandwidth as long as it falls within the range of the analog bandwidth of a system's analog to digital converter. A figure of merit (FOM) that optimizes filter design for a specific application is presented. It considers the worst-case filter performance parameters and a tuning sensitivity term that captures the relation between frequency tunability and the underlying material tunability. A non-tunable parasitic fringe capacitance associated with ferroelectric-based planar capacitors is confirmed by simulated and measured results. The fringe capacitance is an appreciable proportion of the tunable capacitance at frequencies of X-band and higher. As ferroelectric-based tunable capac- itors form tunable resonators in the filter design, a proportionally higher fringe capacitance reduces the capacitance tunability which in turn reduces the frequency tunability of the filter. Methods to reduce the fringe capacitance can thus increase frequency tunability or indirectly reduce the filter insertion-loss by trading off the increased tunability achieved to lower loss. A new two-pole tunable filter topology with high frequency tunability (> 30%), steep filter skirts, wide stopband

  1. Influence of processing parameters on PZT thick films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Oliver; Bandyopadhyay, Amit; Bose, Susmita

    2005-01-01

    We have studied influence of processing parameters on the microstructure and ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based thick films in the range of 5-25 μm. PZT and 2% La-doped PZT thick films were processed using a modified sol-gel process. In this process, PZT- and La-doped PZT powders were first prepared via sol-gel. These powders were calcined and then used with respective sols to form a slurry. Slurry composition was optimized to spin-coat thick films on platinized Si substrate (Si/SiO 2 /Ti/Pt). Spinning rate, acceleration and slurry deposition techniques were optimized to form thick films with uniform thickness and without any cracking. Increasing solids loading was found to enhance the surface smoothness of the film and decrease porosity. Films were tested for their electrical properties and ferroelectric fatigue response. The maximum polarization obtained was 40 μC/cm 2 at 250 kV/cm for PZT thick film and 30 μC/cm 2 at 450 kV/cm for La-doped PZT thick film. After 10 9 cycles of fatiguing at 35 kHz, La-doped PZT showed better resistance for ferroelectric fatigue compared with un-doped PZT films

  2. Comment on 'Extrinsic versus intrinsic ferroelectric switching: experimental investigations using ultra-thin PVDF Langmuir-Blodgett films'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naber, R C G; Blom, P W M; Leeuw, D M de

    2006-01-01

    Previous work on ultra-thin P(VDF-TrFE) Langmuir-Blodgett films has indicated a transition from extrinsic to intrinsic ferroelectric switching. The lack of several key features of intrinsic switching in the experimental work reported by Kliem et al argues against intrinsic switching. In this Comment we discuss two published papers and new experimental results that support a lack of intrinsic switching and point to the conclusion that the thickness dependence of the Langmuir-Blodgett films is due to the influence of the electrode interfaces. (comment)

  3. Ultrafast Photovoltaic Response in Ferroelectric Nanolayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daranciang, Dan

    2012-02-15

    We show that light drives large-amplitude structural changes in thin films of the prototypical ferroelectric PbTiO3 via direct coupling to its intrinsic photovoltaic response. Using time-resolved x-ray scattering to visualize atomic displacements on femtosecond timescales, photoinduced changes in the unit-cell tetragonality are observed. These are driven by the motion of photogenerated free charges within the ferroelectric and can be simply explained by a model including both shift and screening currents, associated with the displacement of electrons first antiparallel to and then parallel to the ferroelectric polarization direction.

  4. Ultrafast Photovoltaic Response in Ferroelectric Nanolayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daranciang, Dan

    2012-01-01

    We show that light drives large-amplitude structural changes in thin films of the prototypical ferroelectric PbTiO3 via direct coupling to its intrinsic photovoltaic response. Using time-resolved x-ray scattering to visualize atomic displacements on femtosecond timescales, photoinduced changes in the unit-cell tetragonality are observed. These are driven by the motion of photogenerated free charges within the ferroelectric and can be simply explained by a model including both shift and screening currents, associated with the displacement of electrons first antiparallel to and then parallel to the ferroelectric polarization direction.

  5. Surface potential-governed cellular osteogenic differentiation on ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Bolin; Zhang, Bo; Zhuang, Junjun; Wang, Qi; Dong, Lingqing; Cheng, Kui; Weng, Wenjian

    2018-05-02

    Surface potential of biomaterials can dramatically influence cellular osteogenic differentiation. In this work, a wide range of surface potential on ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) films was designed to get insight into the interfacial interaction of cell-charged surface. The P(VDF-TrFE) films poled by contact electric poling at various electric fields obtained well stabilized surface potential, with wide range from -3 to 915 mV. The osteogenic differentiation level of cells cultured on the films was strongly dependent on surface potential and reached the optimum at 391 mV in this system. Binding specificity assay indicated that surface potential could effectively govern the binding state of the adsorbed fibronectin (FN) with integrin. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation further revealed that surface potential brought a significant difference in the relative distance between RGD and synergy PHSRN sites of adsorbed FN, resulting in a distinct integrin-FN binding state. These results suggest that the full binding of integrin α5β1 with both RGD and PHSRN sites of FN possesses a strong ability to activate osteogenic signaling pathway. This work sheds light on the underlying mechanism of osteogenic differentiation behavior on charged material surfaces, and also provides a guidance for designing a reasonable charged surface to enhance osteogenic differentiation. The ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) films with steady and a wide range of surface potential were designed to understand underlying mechanism of cell-charged surface interaction. The results showed that the charged surface well favored upregulation of osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells, and more importantly, a highest level occurred on the film with a moderate surface potential. Experiments and molecular dynamics simulation demonstrated that the surface potential could govern fibronectin conformation and then the integrin-fibronectin binding. We propose that a full binding

  6. Research and development on university-collaboration type industrial and scientific technologies in fiscal 1999. Achievement report on research and development of the next generation ferroelectric thin film memory (research and development of the next generation ferroelectric memory); 1999 nendo jisedai kyoyudentai memory no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-03-01

    With an objective to realize the next generation ferroelectric memory, research and development has been carried out on quality improvement in ferroelectric thin films. This paper summarizes the achievements in fiscal 1999. In the search and research on new ferroelectric materials, discussions were given on such new materials as Bi{sub 3.25}La{sub 0.75}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} in addition to the conventional PLZT and SBT. In the research on film forming processes, the sol-gel method, the organic metal gaseous phase growth method and the sputtering method were used. In improving the quality of buffer layers, research was performed to use as a buffer layer the STA/SiON laminated structure in which silicon substrates were nitrided, and a film of SrTa{sub 2}O{sub 6} (STA) being a high ferroelectric material was formed. As a result of the research, a buffer layer having thin films with thickness of 3.7 to 4.8 nm as converted to SiO{sub 2} was obtained, wherein a leak current smaller than the tunnel current of the SiO{sub 2} film having the same thickness was shown. In the search for materials and research on film forming technologies to develop function separated type memory, such pure metals as Pt, Ir and Ru and their conductive oxides were used to evaluate properties as a floating gate electrode. (NEDO)

  7. Structure and switching of in-plane ferroelectric nano-domains in strained PbxSr1-xTiO3 thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matzen, Sylivia [University of Groningen, The Netherlands; Nesterov, Okeksiy [ORNL; Rispens, Gregory [University of Groningen, The Netherlands; Heuver, J. A. [University of Groningen, The Netherlands; Bark, C [University of Wisconsin, Madison; Biegalski, Michael D [ORNL; Christen, Hans M [ORNL; Noheda, Beatriz [University of Groningen, The Netherlands

    2014-01-01

    Nanoscale ferroelectrics, the active elements of a variety of nanoelectronic devices, develop denser and richer domain structures than the bulk counterparts. With shrinking device sizes understanding and controlling domain formation in nanoferroelectrics is being intensely studied. Here we show that a precise control of the epitaxy and the strain allows stabilizing a hierarchical domain architecture in PbxSr1-xTiO3 thin films, showing periodic, purely in-plane polarized, ferroelectric nano-domains that can be switched by a scanning probe.

  8. Poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene/barium titanate nanocomposite for ferroelectric nonvolatile memory devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uvais Valiyaneerilakkal

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The effect of barium titanate (BaTiO3 nanoparticles (particle size <100nm on the ferroelectric properties of poly (vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene P(VDF-TrFE copolymer has been studied. Different concentrations of nanoparticles were added to P(VDF-TrFE using probe sonication, and uniform thin films were made. Polarisation - Electric field (P-E hysteresis analysis shows an increase in remnant polarization (Pr and decrease in coercive voltage (Vc. Piezo-response force microscopy analysis shows the switching capability of the polymer composite. The topography and surface roughness was studied using atomic force microscopy. It has been observed that this nanocomposite can be used for the fabrication of non-volatile ferroelectric memory devices.

  9. Molecular dynamics simulations of ferroelectric domain formation by oxygen vacancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Lin; You, Jeong Ho; Chen, Jinghong; Yeo, Changdong

    2018-05-01

    An oxygen vacancy, known to be detrimental to ferroelectric properties, has been investigated numerically for the potential uses to control ferroelectric domains in films using molecular dynamics simulations based on the first-principles effective Hamiltonian. As an electron donor, an oxygen vacancy generates inhomogeneous electrostatic and displacement fields which impose preferred polarization directions near the oxygen vacancy. When the oxygen vacancies are placed at the top and bottom interfaces, the out-of-plane polarizations are locally developed near the interfaces in the directions away from the interfaces. These polarizations from the interfaces are in opposite directions so that the overall out-of-plane polarization becomes significantly reduced. In the middle of the films, the in-plane domains are formed with containing 90° a 1/a 2 domain walls and the films are polarized along the [1 1 0] direction even when no electric field is applied. With oxygen vacancies placed at the top interface only, the films exhibit asymmetric hysteresis loops, confirming that the oxygen vacancies are one of the possible sources of ferroelectric imprint. It has been qualitatively demonstrated that the domain structures in the imprint films can be turned on and off by controlling an external field along the thickness direction. This study shows qualitatively that the oxygen vacancies can be utilized for tuning ferroelectric domain structures in films.

  10. Study of lead free ferroelectrics using overlay technique on thick film microstrip ring resonator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shridhar N. Mathad

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The lead free ferroelectrics, strontium barium niobates, were synthesized via the low cost solid state reaction method and their fritless thick films were fabricated by screen printing technique on alumina substrate. The X band response (complex permittivity at very high frequencies of Ag thick film microstrip ring resonator perturbed with strontium barium niobates (SrxBa1-xNb2O6 in form of bulk and thick film was measured. A new approach for determination of complex permittivity (ε′ and ε′′ in the frequency range 8–12 GHz, using perturbation of Ag thick film microstrip ring resonator (MSRR, was applied for both bulk and thick film of strontium barium niobates (SrxBa1-xNb2O6. The microwave conductivity of the bulk and thick film lie in the range from 1.779 S/cm to 2.874 S/cm and 1.364 S/cm to 2.296 S/cm, respectively. The penetration depth of microwave in strontium barium niobates is also reported.

  11. Chemical Synthesis of Porous Barium Titanate Thin Film and Thermal Stabilization of Ferroelectric Phase by Porosity-Induced Strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Norihiro; Osada, Minoru; Billah, Motasim; Bando, Yoshio; Yamauchi, Yusuke; Hossain, Shahriar A

    2018-03-27

    Barium titanate (BaTiO3, hereafter BT) is an established ferroelectric material first discovered in the 1940s and still widely used because of its well-balanced ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and dielectric constant. In addition, BT does not contain any toxic elements. Therefore, it is considered to be an eco-friendly material, which has attracted considerable interest as a replacement for lead zirconate titanate (PZT). However, bulk BT loses its ferroelectricity at approximately 130 °C, thus, it cannot be used at high temperatures. Because of the growing demand for high-temperature ferroelectric materials, it is important to enhance the thermal stability of ferroelectricity in BT. In previous studies, strain originating from the lattice mismatch at hetero-interfaces has been used. However, the sample preparation in this approach requires complicated and expensive physical processes, which are undesirable for practical applications. In this study, we propose a chemical synthesis of a porous material as an alternative means of introducing strain. We synthesized a porous BT thin film using a surfactant-assisted sol-gel method, in which self-assembled amphipathic surfactant micelles were used as an organic template. Through a series of studies, we clarified that the introduction of pores had a similar effect on distorting the BT crystal lattice, to that of a hetero-interface, leading to the enhancement and stabilization of ferroelectricity. Owing to its simplicity and cost effectiveness, this fabrication process has considerable advantages over conventional methods.

  12. Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of (Bi,Na)TiO{sub 3}–BaTiO{sub 3} system studied by high throughput screening

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hayden, Brian E. [Ilika Technologies Plc., Kenneth Dibben House, Enterprise Road, University of Southampton Science Park, Chilworth, Southampton SO16 7NS (United Kingdom); Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Yakovlev, Sergey, E-mail: sergey.yakovlev@ilika.com [Ilika Technologies Plc., Kenneth Dibben House, Enterprise Road, University of Southampton Science Park, Chilworth, Southampton SO16 7NS (United Kingdom)

    2016-03-31

    Thin-film materials libraries of the Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}–Na{sub 2}O–TiO{sub 2}–BaO system in a broad composition range have been deposited in ultra-high vacuum from elemental evaporation sources and an oxygen plasma source. A high throughput approach was used for systematic compositional and structural characterization and the screening of the dielectric and ferroelectric properties. The perovskite (Bi,Na)TiO{sub 3}–BaTiO{sub 3} phase with a Ba concentration near the morphotropic phase boundary (ca. 6 at.%) exhibited a relative dielectric permittivity of 180, a loss tangent of 0.04 and remnant polarization of 19 μC/cm{sup 2}. Compared to published data, observed remnant polarization is close to that known for epitaxially grown films but higher than the values reported for polycrystalline films. The high throughput methodology and systematic nature of the study allowed us to establish the composition boundaries of the phase with optimal dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics. - Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}–Na{sub 2}O–TiO{sub 2}–BaO high throughput materials library was deposited using PVD method. • Materials were processed from individual molecular beam epitaxy sources of elements. • High throughput approach was used for structural, dielectric and ferroelectric study. • Composition boundaries of perovskite compounds with optimum properties are reported.

  13. Influence of plasma pressure on the growth characteristics and ferroelectric properties of sputter-deposited PZT thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bose, A.; Maity, T.; Bysakh, S.; Seal, A.; Sen, Suchitra

    2010-01-01

    PZT thin films of thickness (320-1040) nm were synthesized on Si/SiO 2 /Ti/Pt multilayered substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The influence of plasma pressure in the range of (0.24-4.9) Pa, during deposition, on the structural, electrical and ferroelectric properties of the PZT films was systematically studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) were employed for structural study. Nano-probe Energy Dispersive (EDX) line scanning was employed to investigate the elemental distribution across the film-bottom electrode interface. I-V characteristics and polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis loop of the films were measured. The study reveals that the plasma pressure has a strong influence on the evolution and texture of the ferroelectric perovskite phase and microstructure of the films. At an optimum plasma pressure of 4.1 Pa, PZT films are grown with 93% perovskite phase with (1 1 1) preferred orientation and uniform granular microstructure. These films show a saturation polarization of 67 μC/cm 2 , remnant polarization of 30 μC/cm 2 and coercive field of 28 kV/cm which, according to the literature, seem to be suitable for device applications. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study shows that at a plasma pressure of 4.1 Pa, the PZT/bottom Pt interface is sharp and no amorphous interlayer is formed at the interface. At a higher plasma pressure of 4.9 Pa, poor I-V and P-E hysteresis loop are observed which are interpreted as due to an amorphous interlayer at the film-bottom electrode interface which is possibly enriched in Pb, Zr, O and Pt.

  14. Electrical properties of ferroelectric YMnO3 films deposited on n-type Si(111) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parashar, S; Raju, A R; Rao, C N R; Victor, P; Krupanidhi, S B

    2003-01-01

    YMnO 3 thin films were grown on an n-type Si substrate by nebulized spray pyrolysis in the metal-ferroelectric-semiconductor (MFS) configuration. The capacitance-voltage characteristics of the film in the MFS structure exhibit hysteretic behaviour consistent with the polarization charge switching direction, with the memory window decreasing with increase in temperature. The density of the interface states decreases with increasing annealing temperature. Mapping of the silicon energy band gap with the interface states has been carried out. The leakage current, measured in the accumulation region, is lower in well-crystallized thin films and obeys a space-charge limited conduction mechanism. The calculated activation energy from the dc leakage current characteristics of the Arrhenius plot reveals that the activation energy corresponds to oxygen vacancy motion

  15. Photoelectron spectroscopic and microspectroscopic probes of ferroelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tǎnase, Liviu C.; Abramiuc, Laura E.; Teodorescu, Cristian M.

    2017-12-01

    This contribution is a review of recent aspects connected with photoelectron spectroscopy of free ferroelectric surfaces, metals interfaced with these surfaces, graphene-like layers together with some exemplifications concerning molecular adsorption, dissociations and desorptions occurring from ferroelectrics. Standard photoelectron spectroscopy is used nowadays in correlation with other characterization techniques, such as piezoresponse force microscopy, high resolution transmission electron spectroscopy, and ferroelectric hysteresis cycles. In this work we will concentrate mainly on photoelectron spectroscopy and spectro-microscopy characterization of ferroelectric thin films, starting from atomically clean ferroelectric surfaces of lead zirco-titanate, then going towards heterostructures using this material in combination with graphene-like carbon layers or with metals. Concepts involving charge accumulation and depolarization near surface will be revisited by taking into account the newest findings in this area.

  16. Superior piezoelectric composite films: taking advantage of carbon nanomaterials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saber, Nasser; Araby, Sherif; Meng, Qingshi; Hsu, Hung-Yao; Yan, Cheng; Azari, Sara; Lee, Sang-Heon; Xu, Yanan; Ma, Jun; Yu, Sirong

    2014-01-31

    Piezoelectric composites comprising an active phase of ferroelectric ceramic and a polymer matrix have recently found numerous sensory applications. However, it remains a major challenge to further improve their electromechanical response for advanced applications such as precision control and monitoring systems. We here investigated the incorporation of graphene platelets (GnPs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), each with various weight fractions, into PZT (lead zirconate titanate)/epoxy composites to produce three-phase nanocomposites. The nanocomposite films show markedly improved piezoelectric coefficients and electromechanical responses (50%) besides an enhancement of ~200% in stiffness. The carbon nanomaterials strengthened the impact of electric field on the PZT particles by appropriately raising the electrical conductivity of the epoxy. GnPs have been proved to be far more promising in improving the poling behavior and dynamic response than MWNTs. The superior dynamic sensitivity of GnP-reinforced composite may be caused by the GnPs' high load transfer efficiency arising from their two-dimensional geometry and good compatibility with the matrix. The reduced acoustic impedance mismatch resulting from the improved thermal conductance may also contribute to the higher sensitivity of GnP-reinforced composite. This research pointed out the potential of employing GnPs to develop highly sensitive piezoelectric composites for sensing applications.

  17. Superior piezoelectric composite films: taking advantage of carbon nanomaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saber, Nasser; Araby, Sherif; Meng, Qingshi; Hsu, Hung-Yao; Lee, Sang-Heon; Ma, Jun; Yan, Cheng; Xu, Yanan; Azari, Sara; Yu, Sirong

    2014-01-01

    Piezoelectric composites comprising an active phase of ferroelectric ceramic and a polymer matrix have recently found numerous sensory applications. However, it remains a major challenge to further improve their electromechanical response for advanced applications such as precision control and monitoring systems. We here investigated the incorporation of graphene platelets (GnPs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), each with various weight fractions, into PZT (lead zirconate titanate)/epoxy composites to produce three-phase nanocomposites. The nanocomposite films show markedly improved piezoelectric coefficients and electromechanical responses (50%) besides an enhancement of ∼200% in stiffness. The carbon nanomaterials strengthened the impact of electric field on the PZT particles by appropriately raising the electrical conductivity of the epoxy. GnPs have been proved to be far more promising in improving the poling behavior and dynamic response than MWNTs. The superior dynamic sensitivity of GnP-reinforced composite may be caused by the GnPs’ high load transfer efficiency arising from their two-dimensional geometry and good compatibility with the matrix. The reduced acoustic impedance mismatch resulting from the improved thermal conductance may also contribute to the higher sensitivity of GnP-reinforced composite. This research pointed out the potential of employing GnPs to develop highly sensitive piezoelectric composites for sensing applications. (paper)

  18. Perovskite oxides for visible-light-absorbing ferroelectric and photovoltaic materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grinberg, Ilya; West, D Vincent; Torres, Maria; Gou, Gaoyang; Stein, David M; Wu, Liyan; Chen, Guannan; Gallo, Eric M; Akbashev, Andrew R; Davies, Peter K; Spanier, Jonathan E; Rappe, Andrew M

    2013-11-28

    Ferroelectrics have recently attracted attention as a candidate class of materials for use in photovoltaic devices, and for the coupling of light absorption with other functional properties. In these materials, the strong inversion symmetry breaking that is due to spontaneous electric polarization promotes the desirable separation of photo-excited carriers and allows voltages higher than the bandgap, which may enable efficiencies beyond the maximum possible in a conventional p-n junction solar cell. Ferroelectric oxides are also stable in a wide range of mechanical, chemical and thermal conditions and can be fabricated using low-cost methods such as sol-gel thin-film deposition and sputtering. Recent work has shown how a decrease in ferroelectric layer thickness and judicious engineering of domain structures and ferroelectric-electrode interfaces can greatly increase the current harvested from ferroelectric absorber materials, increasing the power conversion efficiency from about 10(-4) to about 0.5 per cent. Further improvements in photovoltaic efficiency have been inhibited by the wide bandgaps (2.7-4 electronvolts) of ferroelectric oxides, which allow the use of only 8-20 per cent of the solar spectrum. Here we describe a family of single-phase solid oxide solutions made from low-cost and non-toxic elements using conventional solid-state methods: [KNbO3]1 - x[BaNi1/2Nb1/2O3 - δ]x (KBNNO). These oxides exhibit both ferroelectricity and a wide variation of direct bandgaps in the range 1.1-3.8 electronvolts. In particular, the x = 0.1 composition is polar at room temperature, has a direct bandgap of 1.39 electronvolts and has a photocurrent density approximately 50 times larger than that of the classic ferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 material. The ability of KBNNO to absorb three to six times more solar energy than the current ferroelectric materials suggests a route to viable ferroelectric semiconductor-based cells for solar energy conversion and

  19. Structural, magnetic, and ferroelectric properties of T-like cobalt-doped BiFeO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, T.; Sharma, P.; Kim, D. H.; Ha, Thai Duy; Juang, Jenh-Yih; Chu, Y.-H.; Seidel, J.; Nagarajan, V.; Yasui, S.; Itoh, M.; Sando, D.

    2018-02-01

    We present a comprehensive study of the physical properties of epitaxial cobalt-doped BiFeO3 films ˜50 nm thick grown on (001) LaAlO3 substrates. X-ray diffraction and magnetic characterization demonstrate high quality purely tetragonal-like (T') phase films with no parasitic impurities. Remarkably, the step-and-terrace film surface morphology can be fully recovered following a local electric-field-induced rhombohedral-like to T' phase transformation. Local switching spectroscopy experiments confirm the ferroelectric switching to follow previously reported transition pathways. Critically, we show unequivocal evidence for conduction at domain walls between polarization variants in T'-like BFO, making this material system an attractive candidate for domain wall-based nanoelectronics.

  20. Transparent Ferroelectric Capacitors on Glass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniele Sette

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available We deposited transparent ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate thin films on fused silica and contacted them via Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO transparent electrodes with an interdigitated electrode (IDE design. These layers, together with a TiO2 buffer layer on the fused silica substrate, are highly transparent (>60% in the visible optical range. Fully crystallized Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT films are dielectrically functional and exhibit a typical ferroelectric polarization loop with a remanent polarization of 15 μC/cm2. The permittivity value of 650, obtained with IDE AZO electrodes is equivalent to the one measured with Pt electrodes patterned with the same design, which proves the high quality of the developed transparent structures.

  1. Quantum mechanical studies of complex ferroelectric perovskites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramer, Nicholas John

    In many electronic device applications, there is a need to interconvert electrical energy and other types of energy. Ferroelectric materials, which possess a voltage-dependent polarization, can enable this energy conversion process. Because of the broad interest in ferroelectric materials for these devices, there is a critical research effort, both experimental and theoretical, to understand these materials and aid in the development of materials with improved properties. This thesis presents detailed quantum mechanical investigations of the behavior of a complex ferroelectric perovskite under applied stress. In particular, we have chosen to study the solid solution PbZr1-xTix O3 (PZT). Since the study of ferroelectricity involves understanding both its structural and electronic signatures in materials, it has necessitated the development of a novel theoretical technique which improves the accuracy of the pseudopotentials used in our density functional theory calculations as well as a new method for constructing three-dimensional atomistic responses to small amounts of external stress. To examine the material's behavior under larger amounts of stress, we have studied the behavior of a composition of PZT lying near a structural phase boundary. On either side of the phase boundary, the material is characterized by a different polarization direction and may easily be switched between phases by applying external stress. In addition to stress-induced phase transitions, most ferroelectric materials also have composition dependent phase boundaries. Since different compositions of PZT would require increased computational effort, we have formulated an improved virtual crystal approach that makes tractable the study of the entire composition range. Using this method, we have been able to show for the first time via first-principles calculations, a composition dependent phase transition in a ferroelectric material. This thesis has accomplished three important goals: new

  2. Silicon-doped hafnium oxide anti-ferroelectric thin films for energy storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Faizan; Liu, Xiaohua; Zhou, Dayu; Yang, Xirui; Xu, Jin; Schenk, Tony; Müller, Johannes; Schroeder, Uwe; Cao, Fei; Dong, Xianlin

    2017-10-01

    Motivated by the development of ultracompact electronic devices as miniaturized energy autonomous systems, great research efforts have been expended in recent years to develop various types of nano-structural energy storage components. The electrostatic capacitors characterized by high power density are competitive; however, their implementation in practical devices is limited by the low intrinsic energy storage density (ESD) of linear dielectrics like Al2O3. In this work, a detailed experimental investigation of energy storage properties is presented for 10 nm thick silicon-doped hafnium oxide anti-ferroelectric thin films. Owing to high field induced polarization and slim double hysteresis, an extremely large ESD value of 61.2 J/cm3 is achieved at 4.5 MV/cm with a high efficiency of ˜65%. In addition, the ESD and the efficiency exhibit robust thermal stability in 210-400 K temperature range and an excellent endurance up to 109 times of charge/discharge cycling at a very high electric field of 4.0 MV/cm. The superior energy storage performance together with mature technology of integration into 3-D arrays suggests great promise for this recently discovered anti-ferroelectric material to replace the currently adopted Al2O3 in fabrication of nano-structural supercapacitors.

  3. Fringing field effects in negative capacitance field-effect transistors with a ferroelectric gate insulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattori, Junichi; Fukuda, Koichi; Ikegami, Tsutomu; Ota, Hiroyuki; Migita, Shinji; Asai, Hidehiro; Toriumi, Akira

    2018-04-01

    We study the effects of fringing electric fields on the behavior of negative-capacitance (NC) field-effect transistors (FETs) with a silicon-on-insulator body and a gate stack consisting of an oxide film, an internal metal film, a ferroelectric film, and a gate electrode using our own device simulator that can properly handle the complicated relationship between the polarization and the electric field in ferroelectric materials. The behaviors of such NC FETs and the corresponding metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) FETs are simulated and compared with each other to evaluate the effects of the NC of the ferroelectric film. Then, the fringing field effects are evaluated by comparing the NC effects in NC FETs with and without gate spacers. The fringing field between the gate stack, especially the internal metal film, and the source/drain region induces more charges at the interface of the film with the ferroelectric film. Accordingly, the function of the NC to modulate the gate voltage and the resulting function to improve the subthreshold swing are enhanced. We also investigate the relationships of these fringing field effects to the drain voltage and four design parameters of NC FETs, i.e., gate length, gate spacer permittivity, internal metal film thickness, and oxide film thickness.

  4. Negative capacitance in a ferroelectric capacitor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Asif Islam; Chatterjee, Korok; Wang, Brian; Drapcho, Steven; You, Long; Serrao, Claudy; Bakaul, Saidur Rahman; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Salahuddin, Sayeef

    2015-02-01

    The Boltzmann distribution of electrons poses a fundamental barrier to lowering energy dissipation in conventional electronics, often termed as Boltzmann Tyranny. Negative capacitance in ferroelectric materials, which stems from the stored energy of a phase transition, could provide a solution, but a direct measurement of negative capacitance has so far been elusive. Here, we report the observation of negative capacitance in a thin, epitaxial ferroelectric film. When a voltage pulse is applied, the voltage across the ferroelectric capacitor is found to be decreasing with time--in exactly the opposite direction to which voltage for a regular capacitor should change. Analysis of this 'inductance'-like behaviour from a capacitor presents an unprecedented insight into the intrinsic energy profile of the ferroelectric material and could pave the way for completely new applications.

  5. Effects of doping on ferroelectric properties and leakage current behavior of KNN-LT-LS thin films on SrTiO3 substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abazari, M.; Safari, A.

    2009-05-01

    We report the effects of Ba, Ti, and Mn dopants on ferroelectric polarization and leakage current of (K0.44Na0.52Li0.04)(Nb0.84Ta0.1Sb0.06)O3 (KNN-LT-LS) thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition. It is shown that donor dopants such as Ba2+, which increased the resistivity in bulk KNN-LT-LS, had an opposite effect in the thin film. Ti4+ as an acceptor B-site dopant reduces the leakage current by an order of magnitude, while the polarization values showed a slight degradation. Mn4+, however, was found to effectively suppress the leakage current by over two orders of magnitude while enhancing the polarization, with 15 and 23 μC/cm2 remanent and saturated polarization, whose values are ˜70% and 82% of the reported values for bulk composition. This phenomenon has been associated with the dual effect of Mn4+ in KNN-LT-LS thin film, by substituting both A- and B-site cations. A detailed description on how each dopant affects the concentrations of vacancies in the lattice is presented. Mn-doped KNN-LT-LS thin films are shown to be a promising candidate for lead-free thin films and applications.

  6. Tunability, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of Ba{sub (1−x)}Ca{sub x}Ti{sub (1−y)}Zr{sub y}O{sub 3} ferroelectric thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daumont, C. J. M., E-mail: christophe.daumont@univ-tours.fr; Le Mouellic, E.; Negulescu, B.; Wolfman, J. [Laboratoire GREMAN, UMR7347 CNRS, Faculté de Sciences et Techniques, Université François Rabelais, 37200 Tours (France); Simon, Q.; Payan, S.; Maglione, M. [Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux, ICMCB-CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, 33608 Pessac Cedex (France); Gardes, P.; Poveda, P. [STMicroelectronics, 10 rue Thalès de Milet, 37071 Tours Cedex (France)

    2016-03-07

    Tunable ferroelectric capacitors, which exhibit a decrease of the dielectric permittivity (ϵ) under electric field, are widely used in electronics for RF tunable applications (e.g., antenna impedance matching). Current devices use barium strontium titanate as the tunable dielectric, and the need for performance enhancement of the tunable element is the key for device improvement. We report here on libraries of Ba{sub 0.97}Ca{sub 0.03}Ti{sub 1−x}Zr{sub x}O{sub 3} thin films (0 ≤ x ≤ 27%) with a thickness of about 130 nm deposited on IrO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates using combinatorial pulsed laser deposition allowing for gradients of composition on one sample. A total of 600 capacitors on a single sample were characterized in order to statistically investigate the dielectric properties. We show that the tunabilty is maximum at intermediate compositions, reaching values up to 60% for an electric field of about 400 kV cm{sup −1}. We attribute the high tunability in the intermediate compositions to the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition, which is brought down to room temperature by the addition of Zr. In addition, the piezoelectric coefficient is found to be decreasing with increasing Zr content.

  7. Thickness dependence of the switching voltage in all-oxide ferroelectric thin-film capacitors prepared by pulsed laser deposition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cillessen, J.F.M.; Prins, M.W.J.; Wolf, R.M.

    1997-01-01

    Thin-film ferroelectric capacitors consisting of PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3 sandwiched between La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 electrodes have been deposited using pulsed laser deposition. The combination of oxidic perovskite-type materials results in capacitors with a coercive field (Ec) which is comparable with values for

  8. Electrical and optical properties of a kind of ferroelectric oxide films comprising of PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 stacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shimin; Ma, Guohong; Wang, Chao; Zhao, Wenchao; Chen, Xiaoshuang; Chu, Junhao; Dai, Ning; Shi, Wangzhou; Hu, Gujin

    2017-07-01

    A type of ferroelectric oxide films, consisting of three PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 stacks with different periodic thicknesses, has been designed and fabricated on F-doped transparent conductive tin oxide substrates by using one single precursor solution and spinning-coating process. These films exhibit superior ferroelectric, dielectric, and optical performance. Each PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 multilayer has a high reflectivity band with ˜110 nm photonic band width and average reflectivity of >80%, a dielectric constant of 530 and dielectric tunability of ˜28% at 1 MHz, a remnant polarization of 36 μC/cm2, and a polarization loss of cycles, rendering their perspective application in photonic band-gap engineering, microwave tunable devices, and integrated optoelectronics.

  9. Controlling dielectric and relaxor-ferroelectric properties for energy storage by tuning Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 film thickness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Emery; Ma, Chunrui; Acharya, Jagaran; Ma, Beihai; Wu, Judy; Li, Jun

    2014-12-24

    The energy storage properties of Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PLZT) films grown via pulsed laser deposition were evaluated at variable film thickness of 125, 250, 500, and 1000 nm. These films show high dielectric permittivity up to ∼1200. Cyclic I-V measurements were used to evaluate the dielectric properties of these thin films, which not only provide the total electric displacement, but also separate contributions from each of the relevant components including electric conductivity (D1), dielectric capacitance (D2), and relaxor-ferroelectric domain switching polarization (P). The results show that, as the film thickness increases, the material transits from a linear dielectric to nonlinear relaxor-ferroelectric. While the energy storage per volume increases with the film thickness, the energy storage efficiency drops from ∼80% to ∼30%. The PLZT films can be optimized for different energy storage applications by tuning the film thickness to optimize between the linear and nonlinear dielectric properties and energy storage efficiency.

  10. Impact of the electrode material and shape on performance of intrinsically tunable ferroelectric FBARs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vorobiev, Andrei; Gevorgian, Spartak

    2014-05-01

    Experiment-based analysis of losses in tunable ferroelectric xBiFeO3-(1-x)BaTiO3 (BF-BT) film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBARs) is reported. The Q-factors, effective coupling coefficients, and tunabilities are considered as functions of surface roughness of the ferroelectric film, the acoustic impedance and shape of the electrodes/interconnecting strips, leakage of acoustic waves into the substrate via Bragg reflector, and the relative thicknesses of the electrodes and ferroelectric film. Compared with Al, the high acoustic impedance of Pt electrodes provides higher Q-factor, coupling coefficient, and tunability. However, using Pt in the interconnecting strips results in reduction of the Q-factor.

  11. Magnetoelastic coupling in multilayered ferroelectric/ferromagnetic thin films: A quantitative evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chiolerio, A., E-mail: alessandro.chiolerio@iit.it [Applied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, IT-10129 Turin (Italy); Center for Space Human Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Trento 21, IT-10129 Turin (Italy); Quaglio, M. [Center for Space Human Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Trento 21, IT-10129 Turin (Italy); Lamberti, A. [Applied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, IT-10129 Turin (Italy); Center for Space Human Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Trento 21, IT-10129 Turin (Italy); Celegato, F. [Electromagnetism Division, INRIM, Strada delle Cacce 91, IT-10135 Turin (Italy); Balma, D.; Allia, P. [Applied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, IT-10129 Turin (Italy)

    2012-08-01

    The electrical control of magnetization in a thin film, achieved by means of magnetoelastic coupling between a ferroelectric and a ferromagnetic layer represents an attractive way to implement magnetic information storage and processing within logical architectures known as Magnetic Quantum Cellular Automata (MQCA). Such systems have been addressed as multiferroics. We exploited cost-effective techniques to realize multi-layered multiferroic systems, such as sol-gel deposition and RF sputtering, introducing a specific technique to control the crystal structure and film roughness effect on the magnetic domain wall motion and reconfiguration, induced by magnetoelastic coupling, by evaluating the 2-dimensional statistical properties of enhanced MFM matrices. A RF sputtered 50-nm-thick Co layer on a Si/SiO{sub 2}/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}/Ti/Pt/PbTiO{sub 3}/Pb(Zr{sub 0.53}Ti{sub 0.47})O{sub 3} substrate was realized, exploiting two differently engineered PZT nano-crystalline structures and the conditions leading to a favorable compromise in order to realize functional devices were elucidated.

  12. Raman analysis of ferroelectric switching in niobium-doped lead zirconate titanate thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrari, P.; Ramos-Moore, E.; Guitar, M.A.; Cabrera, A.L.

    2014-01-01

    Characteristic Raman vibration modes of niobium-doped lead zirconate titanate (PNZT) are studied as a function of ferroelectric domain switching. The microstructure of PNZT is characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Ferroelectric switching is achieved by applying voltages between the top (Au) and bottom (Pt) electrodes, while acquiring the Raman spectra in situ. Vibrational active modes associated with paraelectric and ferroelectric phases are identified after measuring above and below the ferroelectric Curie temperature, respectively. Changes in the relative intensities of the Raman peaks are observed as a function of the switching voltage. The peak area associated with the ferroelectric modes is analyzed as a function of the applied voltage within one ferroelectric polarization loop, showing local maxima around the coercive voltage. This behavior can be understood in terms of the correlation between vibrational and structural properties, since ferroelectric switching modifies the interaction between the body-centered atom (Zr, Ti or Nb) and the Pb–O lattice. - Highlights: • Electric fields induce structural distortions on ferroelectric perovskites. • Ferroelectric capacitor was fabricated to perform hysteresis loops. • Raman analysis was performed in situ during ferroelectric switching. • Raman modes show hysteresis and inflections around the coercive voltages. • Data can be understood in terms of vibrational–structural correlations

  13. Flexible graphene–PZT ferroelectric nonvolatile memory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Wonho; Ahn, Jong-Hyun; Kahya, Orhan; Toh, Chee Tat; Özyilmaz, Barbaros

    2013-01-01

    We report the fabrication of a flexible graphene-based nonvolatile memory device using Pb(Zr 0.35 ,Ti 0.65 )O 3 (PZT) as the ferroelectric material. The graphene and PZT ferroelectric layers were deposited using chemical vapor deposition and sol–gel methods, respectively. Such PZT films show a high remnant polarization (P r ) of 30 μC cm −2 and a coercive voltage (V c ) of 3.5 V under a voltage loop over ±11 V. The graphene–PZT ferroelectric nonvolatile memory on a plastic substrate displayed an on/off current ratio of 6.7, a memory window of 6 V and reliable operation. In addition, the device showed one order of magnitude lower operation voltage range than organic-based ferroelectric nonvolatile memory after removing the anti-ferroelectric behavior incorporating an electrolyte solution. The devices showed robust operation in bent states of bending radii up to 9 mm and in cycling tests of 200 times. The devices exhibited remarkable mechanical properties and were readily integrated with plastic substrates for the production of flexible circuits. (paper)

  14. Flexible graphene-PZT ferroelectric nonvolatile memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Wonho; Kahya, Orhan; Toh, Chee Tat; Ozyilmaz, Barbaros; Ahn, Jong-Hyun

    2013-11-29

    We report the fabrication of a flexible graphene-based nonvolatile memory device using Pb(Zr0.35,Ti0.65)O3 (PZT) as the ferroelectric material. The graphene and PZT ferroelectric layers were deposited using chemical vapor deposition and sol–gel methods, respectively. Such PZT films show a high remnant polarization (Pr) of 30 μC cm−2 and a coercive voltage (Vc) of 3.5 V under a voltage loop over ±11 V. The graphene–PZT ferroelectric nonvolatile memory on a plastic substrate displayed an on/off current ratio of 6.7, a memory window of 6 V and reliable operation. In addition, the device showed one order of magnitude lower operation voltage range than organic-based ferroelectric nonvolatile memory after removing the anti-ferroelectric behavior incorporating an electrolyte solution. The devices showed robust operation in bent states of bending radii up to 9 mm and in cycling tests of 200 times. The devices exhibited remarkable mechanical properties and were readily integrated with plastic substrates for the production of flexible circuits.

  15. Surface Acoustic Waves in ferroelectrics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tarasenko A., Nataliya; Jastrabík, Lubomír; Tarasenko, Alexander

    2004-01-01

    Roč. 298, - (2004), s. 325-333 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IBS1010203 Keywords : Rayleigh waves * ferroelectric films * phase transition Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.517, year: 2004

  16. Multistate storage nonvolatile memory device based on ferroelectricity and resistive switching effects of SrBi2Ta2O9 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Zhiwei; Li, Gang; Xiong, Ying; Cheng, Chuanpin; Zhang, Wanli; Tang, Minghua; Li, Zheng; He, Jiangheng

    2018-05-01

    A memory device with a Pt/SrBi2Ta2O9(SBT)/Pt(111) structure was shown to have excellent combined ferroelectricity and resistive switching properties, leading to higher multistate storage memory capacity in contrast to ferroelectric memory devices. In this device, SBT polycrystalline thin films with significant (115) orientation were fabricated on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates using CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method. Measurement results of the electric properties exhibit reproducible and reliable ferroelectricity switching behavior and bipolar resistive switching effects (BRS) without an electroforming process. The ON/OFF ratio of the resistive switching was found to be about 103. Switching mechanisms for the low resistance state (LRS) and high resistance state (HRS) currents are likely attributed to the Ohmic and space charge-limited current (SCLC) behavior, respectively. Moreover, the ferroelectricity and resistive switching effects were found to be mutually independent, and the four logic states were obtained by controlling the periodic sweeping voltage. This work holds great promise for nonvolatile multistate memory devices with high capacity and low cost.

  17. Composition driven structural instability in perovskite ferroelectrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Xu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Ferroelectric solid solutions usually exhibit enhanced functional properties at the morphotropic phase boundary separating two ferroelectric phases with different orientations of polarization. The underlying mechanism is generally associated with polarization rotational instability and the flattened free energy profile. In this work we show that the polarization extensional instability can also be induced at the morphotropic phase boundary beyond the reported polar-nonpolar phase boundary. The piezoelectricity enhanced by this mechanism exhibits excellent thermal stability, which helps to develop high performance piezoelectric materials with good temperature stability.

  18. Dependency of the properties of Sr xBi yTa2O9 thin films on the Sr and Bi stoichiometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viapiana, Matteo; Schwitters, Michael; Wouters, Dirk J.; Maes, Herman E.; Van der Biest, Omer

    2005-01-01

    In this study the properties of ferroelectric SBT thin films crystallized at 700 deg. C have been investigated as function of the Sr and Bi stoichiometry. A matrix of 130 nm Sr x Bi y Ta 2 O 9 films with 0.7 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 and 2.0 ≤ y ≤ 2.4 has been realized by metal-organic spin-on deposition technique on Pt/IrO 2 /Ir/TiAlN/SiO 2 /Si substrates. Within this composition range, we found that the ferroelectric properties peak into a narrow window of 0.8 ≤ x ≤ 0.9 and y ∼ 2.25 with Pr and Ec of 6.5 μC/cm 2 and 50 kV/cm, respectively (at 2.5 V). Outside this composition window, the Pr decreases while the hysteresis loop becomes slanted. For some Sr/Bi-ratios even no ferroelectricity was achieved. 2Ec-tendencies were seen as function of the x/y-ratios, too. Examination of the microstructure of the films by scanning electron microscopy showed that film grain size increased with decreasing Sr-deficiency and that nucleation increased with increasing Bi-excess. At high Sr-deficiency and low Bi-excess, no complete crystallization of the SBT film occurs. From the film morphology, also different phases can be discriminated. X-ray diffraction analysis showed a strong correlation of the film orientation with the film composition. While our results show a clear correlation of Pr, film grain size and orientation with composition, further investigations are required to clarify the relation of the hysteresis parameters with film orientation

  19. The effects of strain relaxation on the dielectric properties of epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)TiO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Asif Islam; Yu, Pu; Trassin, Morgan; Lee, Michelle J.; You, Long; Salahuddin, Sayeef

    2014-07-01

    We study the effects of strain relaxation on the dielectric properties of epitaxial 40 nm Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)TiO3 (PZT) films. A significant increase in the defect and dislocation density due to strain relaxation is observed in PZT films with tetragonality c/a fatigue in ferroelectric materials.

  20. Probing nanoscale ferroelectricity by ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenne, D A; Bruchhausen, A; Lanzillotti-Kimura, N D; Fainstein, A; Katiyar, R S; Cantarero, A; Soukiassian, A; Vaithyanathan, V; Haeni, J H; Tian, W; Schlom, D G; Choi, K J; Kim, D M; Eom, C B; Sun, H P; Pan, X Q; Li, Y L; Chen, L Q; Jia, Q X; Nakhmanson, S M; Rabe, K M; Xi, X X

    2006-09-15

    We demonstrated that ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy is an effective technique to measure the transition temperature (Tc) in ferroelectric ultrathin films and superlattices. We showed that one-unit-cell-thick BaTiO3 layers in BaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices are not only ferroelectric (with Tc as high as 250 kelvin) but also polarize the quantum paraelectric SrTiO3 layers adjacent to them. Tc was tuned by approximately 500 kelvin by varying the thicknesses of the BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 layers, revealing the essential roles of electrical and mechanical boundary conditions for nanoscale ferroelectricity.

  1. History and the future perspective of the ferroelectric memory; Kyoyudentai memory no rekishiteki haikei to tenbo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tarui, Y [Waseda University, Tokyo (Japan)

    1998-10-01

    Development work is in progress on ferroelectric memory. The memory is a most suitable non-volatile memory which can be incorporated into IC cards, with its higher speed, lower voltage operation, smaller power consumption, and greater number of rewriting times than EEPROM, DRAM and SRAM. Taking as an opportunity the announcement on an experiment as performed by the authors to control semiconductor charge by using electric depolarization of ferroelectric materials, reports have been made one after another on experiments on thin metal films on TGS or BaTiO3, and experiments on semiconductor films formed on ferroelectric crystals or ceramics substrates by using vacuum deposition. In order to solve problems in ferroelectric materials, thin films of PZT and PLZT have emerged, whose good hysteresis characteristics have also been reported. Thereafter, an announcement was made on a material with bismuth layer like perovskite structure. The material is characterized with having very little film fatigue degradation after rewriting of about 10 {sup 12} times. In scaling a ferroelectric memory, if voltage is decreased in proportion with the size, the operation can be reduced proportionately according to the voltage reduction. This paper introduces a method to constitute a ferroelectric memory. 22 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs.

  2. Tunable multiband ferroelectric devices for reconfigurable RF-frontends

    CERN Document Server

    Zheng, Yuliang

    2013-01-01

    Reconfigurable RF-frontends aim to cope with the continuous pursuit of wider frequency coverage, higher efficiency, further compactness and lower cost of ownership. They are expected to lay the foundations of future software defined or cognitive radios. As a potential enabling technology for the frontends, the tunable ferroelectric devices have shown not only enhanced performance but also new functionalities. This book explores the recent developments in the field. It provides a cross-sectional perspective on the interdisciplinary research. With attention to the devices based on ceramic thick-films and crystal thin-films, the book reviews the adapted technologies of material synthesis, film deposition and multilayer circuitry. Next, it highlights the original classes of thin-film ferroelectric devices, including stratified metal-insulator-metal varactors with suppression of acoustic resonance and programmable bi-stable high frequency capacitors. At the end the book analyzes how the frontends can be reformed b...

  3. Ferroelectric capped magnetization in multiferroic PZT/LSMO tunnel junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Ashok, E-mail: ashok553@nplindia.org; Shukla, A. K. [National Physical Laboratory (CSIR), Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110012 (India); Barrionuevo, D.; Ortega, N.; Katiyar, Ram S. [Department of Physics and Institute of Functional Nanomaterials, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3343 (United States); Shannigrahi, Santiranjan [Institute of Materials Research and Engineering - IMRE, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A-STAR), 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602 (Singapore); Scott, J. F. [Department of Chemistry and Department of Physics, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 ST (United Kingdom)

    2015-03-30

    Self-poled ultra-thin ferroelectric PbZr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} (PZT) (5 and 7 nm) films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition technique on ferromagnetic La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO) (30 nm) to check the effect of polar capping on magnetization for ferroelectric tunnel junction devices. PZT/LSMO heterostructures with thick polar PZT (7 nm) capping show nearly 100% enhancement in magnetization compared with thin polar PZT (5 nm) films, probably due to excess hole transfer from the ferroelectric to the ferromagnetic layers. Core-level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies revealed the presence of larger Mn 3s exchange splitting and higher Mn{sup 3+}/Mn{sup 4+} ion ratio in the LSMO with 7 nm polar capping.

  4. A two-step annealing process for enhancing the ferroelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) devices

    KAUST Repository

    Park, Jihoon

    2015-01-01

    We report a simple two-step annealing scheme for the fabrication of stable non-volatile memory devices employing poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer thin-films. The proposed two-step annealing scheme comprises the crystallization of the ferroelectric gamma-phase during the first step and enhancement of the PVDF film dense morphology during the second step. Moreover, when we extended the processing time of the second step, we obtained good hysteresis curves down to 1 Hz, the first such report for ferroelectric PVDF films. The PVDF films also exhibit a coercive field of 113 MV m-1 and a ferroelectric polarization of 5.4 μC cm-2. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.

  5. Ceramic Composite Thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruoff, Rodney S. (Inventor); Stankovich, Sasha (Inventor); Dikin, Dmitriy A. (Inventor); Nguyen, SonBinh T. (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    A ceramic composite thin film or layer includes individual graphene oxide and/or electrically conductive graphene sheets dispersed in a ceramic (e.g. silica) matrix. The thin film or layer can be electrically conductive film or layer depending the amount of graphene sheets present. The composite films or layers are transparent, chemically inert and compatible with both glass and hydrophilic SiOx/silicon substrates. The composite film or layer can be produced by making a suspension of graphene oxide sheet fragments, introducing a silica-precursor or silica to the suspension to form a sol, depositing the sol on a substrate as thin film or layer, at least partially reducing the graphene oxide sheets to conductive graphene sheets, and thermally consolidating the thin film or layer to form a silica matrix in which the graphene oxide and/or graphene sheets are dispersed.

  6. Characterization Of Graphene-Ferroelectric Superlattice Hybrid Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusuf, Mohammed; Du, Xu; Dawber, Matthew

    2013-03-01

    Ferroelectric materials possess a spontaneous electrical polarization, which can be controlled by an electric field. A good interface between ferroelectric surface and graphene sheets can introduce a new generation of multifunctional devices, in which the ferroelectric material can be used to control the properties of graphene. In our approach, problems encountered in previous efforts to combine ferroelectric/carbon systems are overcome by the use of artificially layered superlattice materials grown in the form of epitaxial thin films. In these materials the phase transition temperature and dielectric response of the material can be tailored, allowing us to avoid polarization screening by surface absorbates, whilst maintaining an atomically smooth surface and optimal charge doping properties. Using ferroelectric PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices, we have shown ultra-low-voltage operation of graphene field effect devices within +/- 1 V at room temperature. The switching of the graphene field effect transistors is characterized by pronounced resistance hysteresis, suitable for ultra-fast non-volatile electronics. Low temperature characterization confirmed that the coercive field required for the ferroelectric domain switching increases significantly with decreasing temperatures. National Science Foundation (NSF) (grant number 1105202)

  7. Strain-induced phenomenon in complex oxide thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haislmaier, Ryan

    Complex oxide materials wield an immense spectrum of functional properties such as ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, magnetoelectricity, optoelectricity, optomechanical, magnetoresistance, superconductivity, etc. The rich coupling between charge, spin, strain, and orbital degrees of freedom makes this material class extremely desirable and relevant for next generation electronic devices and technologies which are trending towards nanoscale dimensions. Development of complex oxide thin film materials is essential for realizing their integration into nanoscale electronic devices, where theoretically predicted multifunctional capabilities of oxides could add tremendous value. Employing thin film growth strategies such as epitaxial strain and heterostructure interface engineering can greatly enhance and even unlock novel material properties in complex oxides, which will be the main focus of this work. However, physically incorporating oxide materials into devices remains a challenge. While advancements in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of thin film oxide materials has led to the ability to grow oxide materials with atomic layer precision, there are still major limitations such as controlling stoichiometric compositions during growth as well as creating abrupt interfaces in multi-component layered oxide structures. The work done in this thesis addresses ways to overcome these limitations in order to harness intrinsic material phenomena. The development of adsorption-controlled stoichiometric growth windows of CaTiO3 and SrTiO3 thin film materials grown by hybrid MBE where Ti is supplied using metal-organic titanium tetraisopropoxide material is thoroughly outlined. These growth windows enable superior epitaxial strain-induced ferroelectric and dielectric properties to be accessed as demonstrated by chemical, structural, electrical, and optical characterization techniques. For tensile strained CaTiO3 and compressive strained SrTiO 3 films, the critical effects of

  8. A Reconfigurable Coplanar Waveguide Bowtie Antenna Using an Integrated Ferroelectric Thin-Film Varactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. C. Pan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel printed antenna with a frequency reconfigurable feed network is presented. The antenna consists of a bowtie structure patch radiating element in the inner space of an annulus that is on a nongrounded substrate with a ferroelectric (FE Barium Strontium Titanate (BST thin film. The bowtie patch is fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW transmission line that also includes a CPW-based BST shunt varactor. Reconfiguration of the compact 8 mm × 8 mm system has been demonstrated by shifting the antenna system’s operating frequency 500 MHz in the 7–9 GHz band by applying a DC voltage bias.

  9. Miniaturized and reconfigurable notch antenna based on a BST ferroelectric thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nguyen, Hung Viet [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); CEA-LETI, Minatec, 17 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Benzerga, Ratiba, E-mail: ratiba.benzerga@univ-rennes1.fr [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); Borderon, Caroline [IETR, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes (France); Delaveaud, Christophe [CEA-LETI, Minatec, 17 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Sharaiha, Ala [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); Renoud, Raphael [IETR, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes (France); Paven, Claire Le [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR), IUT Saint-Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22004 Saint-Brieuc (France); Pavy, Sabrina; Nadaud, Kevin; Gundel, Hartmut W. [IETR, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, 44322 Nantes (France)

    2015-07-15

    Highlights: • A miniature and agile antenna based on a BST MIM capacitor is simulated and made. • Mn{sup 2+} doped BST thin films are synthesized by chemical deposition and spin coating. • Permittivity and losses of the BST thin film are respectively 225 and 0.02 at 1 GHz. • A miniaturization rate of 70% is obtained with a MIM capacitance of 3.7 pF. • A frequency tunability of 14.5% and a tunability performance of 0.04 are measured. - Abstract: This work deals with the design, realization and characterization of a miniature and frequency agile antenna based on a ferroelectric Ba{sub 0,80}Sr{sub 0,20}TiO{sub 3} thin film. The notch antenna is loaded with a variable metal/insulator/metal (MIM) capacitor and is achieved by a monolithic method. The MIM capacitance is 3.7 pF, which results in a resonant frequency of 670 MHz compared to 2.25 GHz for the unloaded simulated antenna; the resulting miniaturization rate is 70%. The characterization of the antenna prototype shows a frequency tunable rate of 14.5% under an electric field of 375 kV/cm, with a tunability performance η = 0.04.

  10. Ferroelectric materials for FeRAMs; FeRAM yo kyoyudentai zairyo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyasaka, Y [NEC Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

    1998-10-01

    Studies to utilize bistable spontaneous polarization of ferroelectric materials for non-volatile memory have already been started in the 1950`s. Recently, a possibility was indicated on a high-speed non-volatile RAM (FeRAM) with memory cell configuration combined with switching transistors as in DRAMs. This situation has led to performing very active studies on ferroelectric materials and electrode materials used in ferroelectric film cell capacitors. This paper summarizes the above research and development circumstances, as well as their future problems. On the other hand of having shown excellent fatigue resistance in the SrBi2Ta209(SBT) system, improvement has progressed steadily on the Pb(ZR, Ti)03 (abbreviated to PZT) system, which retains the mainstream position as the ferroelectric material for FeRAMs. Aiming at realizing a high integration FeRAM in the future will require discussions on property changes due to use of lower temperature and micronization in film formation, further improvement in relation with degradation such as in imprint, and elucidation of the mechanism. 31 refs., 3 figs.

  11. Enhanced Switchable Ferroelectric Photovoltaic Effects in Hexagonal Ferrite Thin Films via Strain Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Hyeon; Kim, Donghoon; Chu, Kanghyun; Park, Jucheol; Nam, Sang Yeol; Heo, Seungyang; Yang, Chan-Ho; Jang, Hyun Myung

    2018-01-17

    Ferroelectric photovoltaics (FPVs) are being extensively investigated by virtue of switchable photovoltaic responses and anomalously high photovoltages of ∼10 4 V. However, FPVs suffer from extremely low photocurrents due to their wide band gaps (E g ). Here, we present a promising FPV based on hexagonal YbFeO 3 (h-YbFO) thin-film heterostructure by exploiting its narrow E g . More importantly, we demonstrate enhanced FPV effects by suitably exploiting the substrate-induced film strain in these h-YbFO-based photovoltaics. A compressive-strained h-YbFO/Pt/MgO heterojunction device shows ∼3 times enhanced photovoltaic efficiency than that of a tensile-strained h-YbFO/Pt/Al 2 O 3 device. We have shown that the enhanced photovoltaic efficiency mainly stems from the enhanced photon absorption over a wide range of the photon energy, coupled with the enhanced polarization under a compressive strain. Density functional theory studies indicate that the compressive strain reduces E g substantially and enhances the strength of d-d transitions. This study will set a new standard for determining substrates toward thin-film photovoltaics and optoelectronic devices.

  12. Flexoelectricity: strain gradient effects in ferroelectrics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma Wenhui [Department of Physics, Shantou Unversity, Shantou, Guangdong 515063 (China)

    2007-12-15

    Mechanical strain gradient induced polarization effect or flexoelectricity in perovskite-type ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric ceramics was investigated. The flexoelectric coefficients measured at room temperature ranged from about 1 {mu} C m{sup -1} for lead zirconate titanate to 100 {mu} C m{sup -1} for barium strontium titanate. Flexoelectric effects were discovered to be sensitive to chemical makeup, phase symmetry, and domain structures. Based on phenomenological discussion and experimental data on flexoelectricity, the present study proposed that mechanical strain gradient field could influence polarization responses in a way analogous to electric field. Flexoelectric coefficients were found to be nonlinearly enhanced by dielectric permittivity and strain gradient. Interfacial mismatch in epitaxial thin films can give rise to high strain gradients, enabling flexoelectric effects to make a significant impact in properly engineered ferroelectric heterostructure systems.

  13. Energy landscape scheme for an intuitive understanding of complex domain dynamics in ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heon Kim, Tae; Yoon, Jong-Gul; Hyub Baek, Seung; Park, Woong-Kyu; Mo Yang, Sang; Yup Jang, Seung; Min, Taeyuun; Chung, Jin-Seok; Eom, Chang-Beom; Won Noh, Tae

    2015-07-01

    Fundamental understanding of domain dynamics in ferroic materials has been a longstanding issue because of its relevance to many systems and to the design of nanoscale domain-wall devices. Despite many theoretical and experimental studies, a full understanding of domain dynamics still remains incomplete, partly due to complex interactions between domain-walls and disorder. We report domain-shape-preserving deterministic domain-wall motion, which directly confirms microscopic return point memory, by observing domain-wall breathing motion in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin film using stroboscopic piezoresponse force microscopy. Spatial energy landscape that provides new insights into domain dynamics is also mapped based on the breathing motion of domain walls. The evolution of complex domain structure can be understood by the process of occupying the lowest available energy states of polarization in the energy landscape which is determined by defect-induced internal fields. Our result highlights a pathway for the novel design of ferroelectric domain-wall devices through the engineering of energy landscape using defect-induced internal fields such as flexoelectric fields.

  14. Energy landscape scheme for an intuitive understanding of complex domain dynamics in ferroelectric thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Tae Heon; Yoon, Jong-Gul; Baek, Seung Hyub; Park, Woong-kyu; Yang, Sang Mo; Yup Jang, Seung; Min, Taeyuun; Chung, Jin-Seok; Eom, Chang-Beom; Noh, Tae Won

    2015-07-01

    Fundamental understanding of domain dynamics in ferroic materials has been a longstanding issue because of its relevance to many systems and to the design of nanoscale domain-wall devices. Despite many theoretical and experimental studies, a full understanding of domain dynamics still remains incomplete, partly due to complex interactions between domain-walls and disorder. We report domain-shape-preserving deterministic domain-wall motion, which directly confirms microscopic return point memory, by observing domain-wall breathing motion in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin film using stroboscopic piezoresponse force microscopy. Spatial energy landscape that provides new insights into domain dynamics is also mapped based on the breathing motion of domain walls. The evolution of complex domain structure can be understood by the process of occupying the lowest available energy states of polarization in the energy landscape which is determined by defect-induced internal fields. Our result highlights a pathway for the novel design of ferroelectric domain-wall devices through the engineering of energy landscape using defect-induced internal fields such as flexoelectric fields.

  15. Investigation of the switching characteristics in ferroelectrics by first-order reversal curve diagrams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stancu, Alexandru; Mitoseriu, Liliana; Stoleriu, Laurentiu; Piazza, Daniele; Galassi, Carmen; Ricinschi, Dan; Okuyama, Masanori

    2006-01-01

    First-order reversal curves (FORC) diagrams are proposed for describing the switching properties in ferroelectric materials. The method is applied for Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) ferroelectric ceramics and films with different P(E) hysteresis and microstructural characteristics. The separation of the reversible and irreversible contributions to the ferroelectric polarization is explained in terms of microstructural characteristics of the investigated samples. The influence of parameters as field frequency, crystallite orientation, ferroelectric fatigue and porosity degree on the FORC diagrams is discussed

  16. Ferroelectric properties of tungsten bronze morphotropic phase boundary systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliver, J.R.; Neurgaonkar, R.R.; Cross, L.E.; Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA

    1989-01-01

    Tungsten bronze ferroelectrics which have a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) can have a number or enhanced dielectric, piezoelectric, and electrooptic properties compared to more conventional ferroelectric materials. The structural and ferroelectric properties of several MPB bronze systems are presented, including data from sintered and hot-pressed ceramics, epitaxial thin films, and bulk single crystals. Included among these are three systems which had not been previously identified as morphotropic. The potential advantages and limitations of these MPB systems are discussed, along with considerations of the appropriate growth methods for their possible utilization in optical, piezoelectric, or pyroelectric device applications

  17. Effects of oxygen partial pressure on the ferroelectric properties of pulsed laser deposited Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, J. P. B.; Sekhar, K. C.; Almeida, A.; Agostinho Moreira, J.; Pereira, M.; Gomes, M. J. M.

    2013-11-01

    The Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin films were grown on the Pt-Si substrate at 700 °C by using a pulsed laser deposition technique at different oxygen partial pressure (PO2) in the range of 1-20 Pa and their properties were investigated. It is observed that the PO2 during the deposition plays an important role on the tetragonal distortion ratio, surface morphology, dielectric permittivity, ferroelectric polarization, switching response, and leakage currents of the films. With an increase in PO2, the in-plane strain for the BST films changes from tensile to compressive. The films grown at 7.5 Pa show the optimum dielectric and ferroelectric properties and also exhibit the good polarization stability. It is assumed that a reasonable compressive strain, increasing the ionic displacement, and thus promotes the in-plane polarization in the field direction, could improve the dielectric permittivity. The butterfly features of the capacitance-voltage ( C- V) characteristics and the bell shape curve in polarization current were attributed to the domain reversal process. The effect of pulse amplitude on the polarization reversal behavior of the BST films grown at PO2 of 7.5 Pa was studied. The peak value of the polarization current shows exponential dependence on the electric field.

  18. Strain and Defect Engineering for Tailored Electrical Properties in Perovskite Oxide Thin Films and Superlattices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsing, Greg Hsiang-Chun

    Functional complex-oxides display a wide spectrum of physical properties, including ferromagnetism, piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity, photocatalytic and metal-insulating transition (MIT) behavior. Within this family, oxides with a perovskite structure have been widely studied, especially in the form of thin films and superlattices (heterostructures), which are strategically and industrially important because they offer a wide range of opportunities for electronic, piezoelectric and sensor applications. The first part of my thesis focuses on understanding and tuning of the built-in electric field found in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 (PTO/STO) ferroelectric superlattices and other ferroelectric films. The artificial layering in ferroelectric superlattices is a potential source of polarization asymmetry, where one polarization state is preferred over another. One manifestation of this asymmetry is a built-in electric field associated with shifted polarization hysteresis. Using off-axis RF-magnetron sputtering, we prepared several compositions of PTO/STO superlattice thin films; and for comparison PbTiO3/SrRuO 3 (PTO/SRO) superlattices, which have an additional intrinsic compositional asymmetry at the interface. Both theoretical modeling and experiments indicate that the layer-by-layer superlattice structure aligns the Pb-O vacancy defect dipoles in the c direction which contributes significantly to the built-in electric field; however the preferred polarization direction is different between the PTO/STO and PTO/SRO interface. By designing a hybrid superlattice that combines PTO/STO and PTO/SRO superlattices, we show the built-in electric field can be tuned to zero by changing the composition of the combo-superlattice. The second part of my thesis focuses on the epitaxial growth of SrCrO 3 (SCO) films. The inconsistent reports regarding its electrical and magnetic properties through the years stem from the compositionally and structurally ill-defined polycrystalline samples, but

  19. Piezo-optical and electro-optical behaviour of nematic liquid crystals dispersed in a ferroelectric copolymer matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganesan, Lakshmi Meena; Wirges, Werner; Gerhard, Reimund; Mellinger, Axel

    2010-01-01

    Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are composite materials that consist of micrometre-sized liquid-crystal (LC) droplets embedded in a polymer matrix. From ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) and a nematic LC, PDLC films containing 10 and 60 wt% LC were prepared, and their electro-optical and piezo-optical behaviour was investigated. The electric field that is generated by the application of mechanical stress leads to changes in the transmittance of the PDLC film through a combination of piezoelectric and electro-optical effects. Such a piezo-optical PDLC material may be useful, e.g., in sensing and visualization applications.

  20. Ferroelectric Thin Films III, Symposium Held in San Francisco, California on April 13 - 16, 1993. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Volume 310

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-04-16

    Publication Data Ferroelectric thin films III : symposium held April 13-16, 1993, San Francisco,California, U.S.A. / editors, Bruce A. Turtle , Edwlrd R...All solutions were placed in a modified Collison Nebulizer which generated the droplets in an oxygen carrier gas. The droplets were transported into

  1. Space-charge-mediated anomalous ferroelectric switching in P(VDF-TrEE) polymer films

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Weijin

    2014-11-12

    We report on the switching dynamics of P(VDF-TrEE) copolymer devices and the realization of additional substable ferroelectric states via modulation of the coupling between polarizations and space charges. The space-charge-limited current is revealed to be the dominant leakage mechanism in such organic ferroelectric devices, and electrostatic interactions due to space charges lead to the emergence of anomalous ferroelectric loops. The reliable control of ferroelectric switching in P(VDF-TrEE) copolymers opens doors toward engineering advanced organic memories with tailored switching characteristics.

  2. Dimensional scaling of perovskite ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keech, Ryan R.

    Dimensional size reduction has been the cornerstone of the exponential improvement in silicon based logic devices for decades. However, fundamental limits in the device physics were reached ˜2003, halting further reductions in clock speed without significant penalties in power consumption. This has motivated the research into next generation transistors and switching devices to reinstate the scaling laws for clock speed. This dissertation aims to support the scaling of devices that are based on ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity and to provide a roadmap for the corresponding materials performance. First, a scalable growth process to obtain highly {001}-oriented lead magnesium niobate - lead titanate (PMN-PT) thin films was developed, motivated by the high piezoelectric responses observed in bulk single crystals. It was found that deposition of a 2-3 nm thick PbO buffer layer on {111} Pt thin film bottom electrodes, prior to chemical solution deposition of PMN-PT reduces the driving force for Pb diffusion from the PMN-PT to the bottom electrode, and facilitates nucleation of {001}-oriented perovskite grains. Energy dispersive spectroscopy demonstrated that up to 10% of the Pb from a PMN-PT precursor solution may diffuse into the bottom electrode. PMN-PT grains with a mixed {101}/{111} orientation in a matrix of Pb-deficient pyrochlore phase were then promoted near the interface. When this is prevented, phase pure films with {001} orientation with Lotgering factors of 0.98-1.0, can be achieved. The resulting films of only 300 nm in thickness exhibit longitudinal effective d33,f coefficients of ˜90 pm/V and strain values of ˜1% prior to breakdown. 300 nm thick epitaxial and polycrystalline lead magnesium niobate - lead titanate (70PMN-30PT) blanket thin films were studied for the relative contributions to property thickness dependence from interfacial and grain boundary low permittivity layers. Epitaxial PMN-PT films were grown on SrRuO 3 /(001)SrTiO3, while

  3. Down-conversion luminescence and its temperature-sensing properties from Er3+-doped sodium bismuth titanate ferroelectric thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shanshan; Zheng, Shanshan; Zhou, Hong; Pan, Anlian; Wu, Guangheng; Liu, Jun-ming

    2015-11-01

    Here, we demonstrate outstanding temperature-sensing properties from Na0.5Bi0.49Er0.01TiO3 (NBT:Er) thin films. The perovskite phase for them is stable in the temperature range from 80 to 440 K. Interestingly, the Er doping enhances the ferroelectric polarization and introduces local dipolar, which are positive for temperature sensing. Pumped by a 488-nm laser, the NBT:Er thin films show strong green luminescence with two bands around 525 and 548 nm. The intensity ratio I 525/ I 548 can be used for temperature sensing, and the maximum sensitivity is about 2.3 × 10-3 K-1, higher than that from Er-doped silicon oxide. These suggest NBT:Er thin film is a promising candidate for temperature sensor.

  4. Interrelationship between flexoelectricity and strain gradient elasticity in ferroelectric nanofilms: A phase field study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Limei; Xu, Xiaofei; Zhou, Yichun

    2016-12-01

    With the development of the integrated circuit technology and decreasing of the device size, ferroelectric films used in nano ferroelectric devices become thinner and thinner. Along with the downscaling of the ferroelectric film, there is an increasing influence of two strain gradient related terms. One is the strain gradient elasticity and the other one is flexoelectricity. To investigate the interrelationship between flexoelectricity and strain gradient elasticity and their combined effect on the domain structure in ferroelectric nanofilms, a phase field model of flexoelectricity and strain gradient elasticity on the ferroelectric domain evolution is developed based on Mindlin's theory of strain-gradient elasticity. Weak form is derived and implemented in finite element formulations for numerically solving the model equations. The simulation results show that upper bounds for flexoelectric coefficients can be enhanced by increasing strain gradient elasticity coefficients. While a large flexoelectricity that exceeds the upper bound can induce a transition from a ferroelectric state to a modulated/incommensurate state, a large enough strain gradient elasticity may lead to a conversion from an incommensurate state to a ferroelectric state. Strain gradient elasticity and the flexoelectricity have entirely opposite effects on polarization. The observed interrelationship between the strain gradient elasticity and flexoelectricity is rationalized by an analytical solution of the proposed theoretical model. The model proposed in this paper could help us understand the mechanism of phenomena observed in ferroelectric nanofilms under complex electromechanical loads and provide some guides on the practical application of ferroelectric nanofilms.

  5. Hybrid dual gate ferroelectric memory for multilevel information storage

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser

    2015-01-01

    Here, we report hybrid organic/inorganic ferroelectric memory with multilevel information storage using transparent p-type SnO semiconductor and ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) polymer. The dual gate devices include a top ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) and a bottom thin-film transistor (TFT). The devices are all fabricated at low temperatures (∼200°C), and demonstrate excellent performance with high hole mobility of 2.7 cm2 V-1 s-1, large memory window of ∼18 V, and a low sub-threshold swing ∼-4 V dec-1. The channel conductance of the bottom-TFT and the top-FeFET can be controlled independently by the bottom and top gates, respectively. The results demonstrate multilevel nonvolatile information storage using ferroelectric memory devices with good retention characteristics.

  6. The Integration and Applications of Organic Thin Film Transistors and Ferroelectric Polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Yu-Jen

    Organic thin film transistors and ferroelectric polymer (polyvinylidene difluoride) sheet material are integrated to form various sensors for stress/strain, acoustic wave, and Infrared (heat) sensing applications. Different from silicon-based transistors, organic thin film transistors can be fabricated and processed in room-temperature and integrated with a variety of substrates. On the other hand, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) exhibits ferroelectric properties that are highly useful for sensor applications. The wide frequency bandwidth (0.001 Hz to 10 GHz), vast dynamic range (100n to 10M psi), and high elastic compliance (up to 3 percent) make PVDF a more suitable candidate over ceramic piezoelectric materials for thin and flexible sensor applications. However, the low Curie temperature may have impeded its integration with silicon technology. Organic thin film transistors, however, do not have the limitation of processing temperature, hence can serve as transimpedance amplifiers to convert the charge signal generated by PVDF into current signal that are more measurable and less affected by any downstream parasitics. Piezoelectric sensors are useful for a range of applications, but passive arrays suffer from crosstalk and signal attenuation which have complicated the development of array-based PVDF sensors. We have used organic field effect transistors, which are compatible with the low Curie temperature of a flexible piezoelectric polymer,PVDF, to monolithically fabricate transimpedance amplifiers directly on the sensor surface and convert the piezoelectric charge signal into a current signal which can be detected even in the presence of parasitic capacitances. The device couples the voltage generated by the PVDF film under strain into the gate of the organic thin film transistors (OFET) using an arrangement that allows the full piezoelectric voltage to couple to the channel, while also increasing the charge retention time. A bipolar detector is created by

  7. Dynamic response in a finite size composite multiferroic thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Zidong, E-mail: Zidong.Wang@auckland.ac.nz; Grimson, Malcolm J. [Department of Physics, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010 (New Zealand)

    2016-03-28

    Composite multiferroics, heterostructures of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials, are characterized by a remarkable magnetoelectric effect at the interface. Previous work has supported the ferromagnetic structure with magnetic spins and the ferroelectric with pseudospins which act as electric dipoles in a microscopic model, coupled with a magnetoelectric interaction [Wang and Grimson, J. Appl. Phys. 118, 124109 (2015)]. In this work, by solving the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, the electric-field-induced magnetization switching in a twisted boundary condition has been studied, and a behavior of domain wall in the ferromagnetic structure is discussed.

  8. Low temperature plasma-enhanced ALD TiN ultrathin films for Hf{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.5}O{sub 2}-based ferroelectric MIM structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozodaev, M.G.; Chernikova, A.G.; Markeev, A.M. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutsky Lane 9, Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region 141700 (Russian Federation); Lebedinskii, Y.Y. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutsky Lane 9, Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region 141700 (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Kashirskoye Shosse 31, 115409 Moscow (Russian Federation); Polyakov, S.N. [Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials, Tsentral' naya str. 7a, 142190, Troitsk, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2017-06-15

    In this work chemical and electrical properties of TiN films, grown by low temperature plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) process from TiCl{sub 4} and NH{sub 3}, were investigated. Electrical resistivity as low as 250 μOhm x cm, as well as the lowest Cl impurity content, was achieved at 320 C. Full-ALD Hf{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.5}O{sub 2}-based metal-ferroelectric-metal capacitor with TiN electrodes was fabricated and its electrical properties were investigated. It was also shown that the proposed PE-ALD process provides an early film continuity, which was confirmed by ultrathin fully continuous film growth. Such ultrathin (3 nm) and fully continuous TiN film was also successfully implemented as the top electrode to Hf{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.5}O{sub 2}-based ferroelectric capacitor. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS) was used for its thickness determination and a visible wake-up effect in underlying Hf{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.5}O{sub 2} layer was clearly observed. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  9. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric responses of (110) and (001)-oriented epitaxial Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} thin films on all-oxide layers buffered silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vu, Hien Thu [International Training Institute for Materials Science (ITIMS), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, No.1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi 10000 (Viet Nam); Nguyen, Minh Duc, E-mail: minh.nguyen@itims.edu.vn [International Training Institute for Materials Science (ITIMS), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, No.1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi 10000 (Viet Nam); Inorganic Materials Science (IMS), MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); SolMateS B.V., Drienerlolaan 5, Building 6, 7522 NB Enschede (Netherlands); Houwman, Evert; Boota, Muhammad [Inorganic Materials Science (IMS), MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Dekkers, Matthijn [SolMateS B.V., Drienerlolaan 5, Building 6, 7522 NB Enschede (Netherlands); Vu, Hung Ngoc [International Training Institute for Materials Science (ITIMS), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, No.1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi 10000 (Viet Nam); Rijnders, Guus [Inorganic Materials Science (IMS), MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands)

    2015-12-15

    Graphical abstract: The cross sections show a very dense structure in the (001)-oriented films (c,d), while an open columnar growth structure is observed in the case of the (110)-oriented films (a,b). The (110)-oriented PZT films show a significantly larger longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d33{sub ,f}), but smaller transverse piezoelectric coefficient (d31{sub ,f}) than the (001) oriented films. - Highlights: • We fabricate all-oxide, epitaxial piezoelectric PZT thin films on Si. • The orientation of the films can be controlled by changing the buffer layer stack. • The coherence of the in-plane orientation of the grains and grain boundaries affects the ferroelectric properties. • Good cycling stability of the ferroelectric properties of (001)-oriented PZT thin films. The (110)-oriented PZT thin films show a larger d33{sub ,f} but smaller d31{sub ,f} than the (001)-oriented films. - Abstract: Epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} (PZT) thin films were fabricated on silicon substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Depending on the buffer layers and perovskite oxide electrodes, epitaxial films with different orientations were grown. (110)-oriented PZT/SrRuO{sub 3} (and PZT/LaNiO{sub 3}) films were obtained on YSZ-buffered Si substrates, while (001)-oriented PZT/SrRuO{sub 3} (and PZT/LaNiO{sub 3}) were fabricated with an extra CeO{sub 2} buffer layer (CeO{sub 2}/YSZ/Si). There is no effect of the electrode material on the properties of the films. The initial remnant polarizations in the (001)-oriented films are higher than those of (110)-oriented films, but it increases to the value of the (001) films upon cycling. The longitudinal piezoelectric d33{sub ,f} coefficients of the (110) films are larger than those of the (001) films, whereas the transverse piezoelectric d31{sub ,f} coefficients in the (110)-films are less than those in the (001)-oriented films. The difference is ascribed to the lower density (connectivity between

  10. Ferroelectric capacitor with reduced imprint

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Jr., Joseph T.; Warren, William L.; Tuttle, Bruce A.; Dimos, Duane B.; Pike, Gordon E.

    1997-01-01

    An improved ferroelectric capacitor exhibiting reduced imprint effects in comparison to prior art capacitors. A capacitor according to the present invention includes top and bottom electrodes and a ferroelectric layer sandwiched between the top and bottom electrodes, the ferroelectric layer comprising a perovskite structure of the chemical composition ABO.sub.3 wherein the B-site comprises first and second elements and a dopant element that has an oxidation state greater than +4. The concentration of the dopant is sufficient to reduce shifts in the coercive voltage of the capacitor with time. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ferroelectric element comprises Pb in the A-site, and the first and second elements are Zr and Ti, respectively. The preferred dopant is chosen from the group consisting of Niobium, Tantalum, and Tungsten. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the dopant occupies between 1 and 8% of the B-sites.

  11. Nanoscale ferroelectrics and multiferroics key processes and characterization issues, and nanoscale effects

    CERN Document Server

    Alguero, Miguel

    2016-01-01

    This book reviews the key issues in processing and characterization of nanoscale ferroelectrics and multiferroics, and provides a comprehensive description of their properties, with an emphasis in differentiating size effects of extrinsic ones like boundary or interface effects. Recently described nanoscale novel phenomena are also addressed. Organized into three parts it addresses key issues in processing (nanostructuring), characterization (of the nanostructured materials) and nanoscale effects. Taking full advantage of the synergies between nanoscale ferroelectrics and multiferroics, it covers materials nanostructured at all levels, from ceramic technologies like ferroelectric nanopowders, bulk nanostructured ceramics and thick films, and magnetoelectric nanocomposites, to thin films, either polycrystalline layer heterostructures or epitaxial systems, and to nanoscale free standing objects with specific geometries, such as nanowires and tubes at different levels of development. The book is developed from t...

  12. Dynamics of ferroelectric nanodomains in BaTiO3 epitaxial thin films via piezoresponse force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pertsev, N A; Petraru, A; Kohlstedt, H; Waser, R; Bdikin, I K; Kiselev, D; Kholkin, A L

    2008-01-01

    Ferroelectric nanodomains were created in BaTiO 3 thin films by applying a voltage to a sharp conducting tip of a scanning force microscope (SFM). The films were epitaxially grown on SrRuO 3 -covered (001)-oriented SrTiO 3 substrates by a high-pressure sputtering. They appeared to be single-crystalline with the (001) crystallographic orientation relative to the substrate. Using the piezoresponse mode of the SFM to detect the out-of-plane film polarization, the domain sizes were measured as a function of the applied writing voltage and the pulse time. It was found that the time dependence of the domain diameter in a 60 nm thick BaTiO 3 film deviates significantly from the logarithmic law observed earlier in Pb(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O 3 (PZT) films. At a given writing time, the domain size increases nonlinearly with increasing applied voltage, in contrast to the linear behavior reported earlier for PZT films and LiNbO 3 single crystals. The dynamics of domain growth is analyzed theoretically taking into account the strong inhomogeneity of the external electric field in the film and the influence of the bottom electrode. It is shown that the observed writing time and voltage dependences of the domain size can be explained by the domain-wall creep in the presence of random-bond disorder

  13. Strain Engineering of Ferroelectric Domains in KxNa1−xNbO3 Epitaxial Layers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jutta Schwarzkopf

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The application of lattice strain through epitaxial growth of oxide films on lattice mismatched perovskite-like substrates strongly influences the structural properties of ferroelectric domains and their corresponding piezoelectric behavior. The formation of different ferroelectric phases can be understood by a strain-phase diagram, which is calculated within the framework of the Landau–Ginzburg–Devonshire theory. In this paper, we illustrate the opportunity of ferroelectric domain engineering in the KxNa1−xNbO3 lead-free material system. In particular, the following examples are discussed in detail: (i Different substrates (NdGaO3, SrTiO3, DyScO3, TbScO3, and GdScO3 are used to systematically tune the incorporated epitaxial strain from compressive to tensile. This can be exploited to adjust the NaNbO3 thin film surface orientation and, concomitantly, the vector of electrical polarization, which rotates from mainly vertical to exclusive in-plane orientation. (ii In ferroelectric NaNbO3, thin films grown on rare-earth scandate substrates, highly regular stripe domain patterns are observed. By using different film thicknesses, these can be tailored with regard to domain periodicity and vertical polarization component. (iii A featured potassium concentration of x = 0.9 of KxNa1−xNbO3 thin films grown on (110 NdScO3 substrates favors the coexistence of two equivalent, monoclinic, but differently oriented ferroelectric phases. A complicated herringbone domain pattern is experimentally observed which consists of alternating MC and a1a2 domains. The coexistence of different types of ferroelectric domains leads to polarization discontinuities at the domain walls, potentially enabling high piezoelectric responses. In each of these examples, the experimental results are in excellent agreement with predictions based on the linear elasticity theory.

  14. Physical aspects of ferroelectric semiconductors for photovoltaic solar energy conversion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopez-Varo, Pilar [Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadores, CITIC-UGR, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada (Spain); Bertoluzzi, Luca [Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM), Universitat Jaume I, 12006 Castelló (Spain); Bisquert, Juan, E-mail: bisquert@uji.es [Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM), Universitat Jaume I, 12006 Castelló (Spain); Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Alexe, Marin [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Coll, Mariona [Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalonia (Spain); Huang, Jinsong [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0656 (United States); Jimenez-Tejada, Juan Antonio [Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadores, CITIC-UGR, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada (Spain); Kirchartz, Thomas [IEK5-Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Faculty of Engineering and CENIDE, University of Duisburg–Essen, Carl-Benz-Str. 199, 47057 Duisburg (Germany); Nechache, Riad; Rosei, Federico [INRS—Center Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Québec, J3X 1S2 (Canada); Yuan, Yongbo [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0656 (United States)

    2016-10-07

    Solar energy conversion using semiconductors to fabricate photovoltaic devices relies on efficient light absorption, charge separation of electron–hole pair carriers or excitons, and fast transport and charge extraction to counter recombination processes. Ferroelectric materials are able to host a permanent electrical polarization which provides control over electrical field distribution in bulk and interfacial regions. In this review, we provide a critical overview of the physical principles and mechanisms of solar energy conversion using ferroelectric semiconductors and contact layers, as well as the main achievements reported so far. In a ferroelectric semiconductor film with ideal contacts, the polarization charge would be totally screened by the metal layers and no charge collection field would exist. However, real materials show a depolarization field, smooth termination of polarization, and interfacial energy barriers that do provide the control of interface and bulk electric field by switchable spontaneous polarization. We explore different phenomena as the polarization-modulated Schottky-like barriers at metal/ferroelectric interfaces, depolarization fields, vacancy migration, and the switchable rectifying behavior of ferroelectric thin films. Using a basic physical model of a solar cell, our analysis provides a general picture of the influence of ferroelectric effects on the actual power conversion efficiency of the solar cell device, and we are able to assess whether these effects or their combinations are beneficial or counterproductive. We describe in detail the bulk photovoltaic effect and the contact layers that modify the built-in field and the charge injection and separation in bulk heterojunction organic cells as well as in photocatalytic and water splitting devices. We also review the dominant families of ferroelectric materials that have been most extensively investigated and have provided the best photovoltaic performance.

  15. Physical aspects of ferroelectric semiconductors for photovoltaic solar energy conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez-Varo, Pilar; Bertoluzzi, Luca; Bisquert, Juan; Alexe, Marin; Coll, Mariona; Huang, Jinsong; Jimenez-Tejada, Juan Antonio; Kirchartz, Thomas; Nechache, Riad; Rosei, Federico; Yuan, Yongbo

    2016-01-01

    Solar energy conversion using semiconductors to fabricate photovoltaic devices relies on efficient light absorption, charge separation of electron–hole pair carriers or excitons, and fast transport and charge extraction to counter recombination processes. Ferroelectric materials are able to host a permanent electrical polarization which provides control over electrical field distribution in bulk and interfacial regions. In this review, we provide a critical overview of the physical principles and mechanisms of solar energy conversion using ferroelectric semiconductors and contact layers, as well as the main achievements reported so far. In a ferroelectric semiconductor film with ideal contacts, the polarization charge would be totally screened by the metal layers and no charge collection field would exist. However, real materials show a depolarization field, smooth termination of polarization, and interfacial energy barriers that do provide the control of interface and bulk electric field by switchable spontaneous polarization. We explore different phenomena as the polarization-modulated Schottky-like barriers at metal/ferroelectric interfaces, depolarization fields, vacancy migration, and the switchable rectifying behavior of ferroelectric thin films. Using a basic physical model of a solar cell, our analysis provides a general picture of the influence of ferroelectric effects on the actual power conversion efficiency of the solar cell device, and we are able to assess whether these effects or their combinations are beneficial or counterproductive. We describe in detail the bulk photovoltaic effect and the contact layers that modify the built-in field and the charge injection and separation in bulk heterojunction organic cells as well as in photocatalytic and water splitting devices. We also review the dominant families of ferroelectric materials that have been most extensively investigated and have provided the best photovoltaic performance.

  16. Effects of heat-treatment conditions on electrical properties of sol-gel-derived ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shim, Donghyun; Pak, Jaemoon; Nam, Kuangwoo; Park, Gwangseo

    2005-01-01

    Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) films with Zr/Ti ratio of 50 : 50 were prepared by spin-casting at 3000 rpm for 30 sec on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si substrates. After standard processing procedure, three different methods of annealing were conducted at 600 .deg. C : a single-step process carried out in (a) air, and (b) O 2 ambient, and (c) a 2-step process carried out in air, followed by an O 2 annealing process. These films were highly oriented along the (111) direction with large remnant polarization and low coercive voltage values. The films treated in O 2 had relatively larger polarization values, but the 2-step-annealed films possessed lower coercive voltage. Fatigue measurements were conducted until 1 X 10 10 switching cycles, resulting in abnormal switching characteristics for these films. A comparative study on the ferroelectric and fatigue properties will be emphasized.

  17. A hybrid ferroelectric-flash memory cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jae Hyo; Byun, Chang Woo; Seok, Ki Hwan; Kim, Hyung Yoon; Chae, Hee Jae; Lee, Sol Kyu; Son, Se Wan; Ahn, Donghwan; Joo, Seung Ki

    2014-09-01

    A ferroelectric-flash (F-flash) memory cells having a metal-ferroelectric-nitride-oxynitride-silicon structure are demonstrated, and the ferroelectric materials were perovskite-dominated Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) crystallized by Pt gate electrode. The PZT thin-film as a blocking layer improves electrical and memorial performance where programming and erasing mechanism are different from the metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor device or the conventional silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon device. F-flash cells exhibit not only the excellent electrical transistor performance, having 442.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 of field-effect mobility, 190 mV dec-1 of substhreshold slope, and 8 × 105 on/off drain current ratio, but also a high reliable memory characteristics, having a large memory window (6.5 V), low-operating voltage (0 to -5 V), faster P/E switching speed (50/500 μs), long retention time (>10 years), and excellent fatigue P/E cycle (>105) due to the boosting effect, amplification effect, and energy band distortion of nitride from the large polarization. All these characteristics correspond to the best performances among conventional flash cells reported so far.

  18. Voltage tunability of thermal conductivity in ferroelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihlefeld, Jon; Hopkins, Patrick Edward

    2016-02-09

    A method to control thermal energy transport uses mobile coherent interfaces in nanoscale ferroelectric films to scatter phonons. The thermal conductivity can be actively tuned, simply by applying an electrical potential across the ferroelectric material and thereby altering the density of these coherent boundaries to directly impact thermal transport at room temperature and above. The invention eliminates the necessity of using moving components or poor efficiency methods to control heat transfer, enabling a means of thermal energy control at the micro- and nano-scales.

  19. Study on pure and Nd-doped BiFeO{sub 3} thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xue, Xu, E-mail: xuexu9@163.com; Tan, Guoqiang, E-mail: tan3114@163.com; Liu, Wenlong; Hao, Hangfei

    2014-08-01

    Highlights: • The composition of the precursor plays a crucial role in BFO. • The ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition through Nd substitution. • The significant enhancement in magnetization is observed in orthorhombic BNFO. • The highest magnetocapacitance is observed at x = 0.15. • The band gap of BNFO can be expressed as E{sub g} = (2.45 − 0.024x) eV. - Abstract: Polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) films with varying precursor composition and Bi{sub 1−x}Nd{sub x}FeO{sub 3} (BNFO, x = 0.06–0.20) films were deposited on FTO substrates by using a chemical solution deposition method. Present data indicated that the precursor played a crucial role, i.e., microstructure, morphology and ferroelectric properties of the BFO film are closely related to the proportion of acetic anhydride. XRD analysis and Raman spectra revealed a structural transition from rhombohedral to tetragonal as the amount of acetic anhydride was increased. The effect of Nd on microstructure, chemical state, dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic and optical properties has been investigated. A structural transition with increasing Nd content was proved by using XRD and Raman scattering spectra. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Fe{sup 2+} and the valence fluctuation of Bi of the BNFO films. The strongest ferroelectric polarization and magnetocapacitance were obtained in the sample with 15% Nd. A dramatic reduction in ferroelectric polarization and the strongest magnetization were observed in the BNFO (x = 0.20) film due to its paraelectric nature and orthorhombic structure. With increasing Nd content, the band gap of the BNFO films decreased with E{sub g} = (2.45 − 0.024x) eV.

  20. Photoinduced effects of ferroelectric domains in PbZr1-xTixO3 thin films as obtained by using piezoresponse force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, Y. H.; Kim, C. H.; Hwang, H. J.; Cho, J. H.; Moon, H. B.; Bhang, S. H.

    2011-01-01

    Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) has been used to investigate the photoinduced effect of ferroelectric domains in PbZr 1-x Ti x O 3 (PZT) thin films. In order to perform nondestructive visualization of the high-resolution domain structure, we optimized the imaging condition, such as applying a lower voltage than 1.0 Vpp (peak-to-peak voltage). In this study, domain changes were measured before and after illumination on the surface of PZT films by using an UV light emitting diode (LED) source (λ = 310 nm) with a focusing lens to investigate the influence of the photoinduced carriers on the ferroelectric polarization. In addition, to investigate the photoinduced effects on the domain distribution, we performed histogram of positive and negative domains before and after UV-light illumination. The illumination with UV light resulted in an increase of the positive domain of the out-of-plane mode. Also, a change in the out-of-plane domain distribution was observed before and after UV illumination. The relaxation of photoinduced changes was monitored by repeated scans within a time range of 20 ∼ 60 minutes.

  1. Subcritical switching dynamics and humidity effects in nanoscale studies of domain growth in ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blaser, Cédric; Paruch, Patrycja

    2015-01-01

    Ferroelectric domain switching in c-axis-oriented epitaxial Pb(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O 3 thin films was studied using biased scanning probe microscopy tips. While linear and logarithmic dependence of domain size on tip bias and writing time, respectively, are well known, we report an additional linear dependence on relative humidity in the 28–65% range. We map out the switched domain size as a function of both the tip bias and the applied pulse time and describe a growth-limited regime for very short pulses and a nucleation-limited regime for very low tip bias. Using ‘interrupted-switching’ measurements, we probe the nucleation regime with subcritical pulses and identify a surprisingly long relaxation time on the order of 100 ms, which we relate to ionic redistribution both on the surface and within the thin film itself. (paper)

  2. Ferroelectric properties of BaTiO3/PbZr0.2Ti.08O3 bilayer thin film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salev, Pavel; Yang, Chun; Grigoriev, Alexei

    2014-03-01

    The thin film ferroelectric BaTiO3/PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 bilayer was epitaxially grown on SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrate by RF sputtering. Electrical measurements of polarization switching revealed two different switching regimes - a small ferroelectric hysteresis loop at low applied voltage and a larger loop at a high voltage. The measured dielectric permittivity corresponds to weak electrostatic coupling between two layers according to Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire theory. This weak coupling may allow for independent polarization states to exist in individual layers. This can lead to stable head-to-head and tail-to-tail polarization domain configurations, which would explain the two switching regimes observed in electrical measurements. The compensation of polarization gradient across the interface can be explained by the enhancement of interface charge carrier density due to strong bending of electron energy bands. This work was supported by NSF award DMR-1057159.

  3. Losses in Ferroelectric Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Gang; Zhang, Shujun; Jiang, Wenhua; Cao, Wenwu

    2015-01-01

    loss mechanisms are discussed in terms of compositions, crystal structures, temperature, domain configurations, domain sizes and grain boundaries. The intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the total energy dissipation are quantified. In domain engineered ferroelectric single crystals and ceramics, polarization rotations, domain wall motions and mechanical wave scatterings at grain boundaries are believed to control the mechanical quality factors of piezoelectric resonators. We show that a thorough understanding on the kinetic processes is critical in analyzing energy loss behavior and other time-dependent properties in ferroelectric materials. At the end of the review, existing challenges in the study and control of losses in ferroelectric materials are analyzed, and future perspective in resolving these issues is discussed. PMID:25814784

  4. Losses in Ferroelectric Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Gang; Zhang, Shujun; Jiang, Wenhua; Cao, Wenwu

    2015-03-01

    loss mechanisms are discussed in terms of compositions, crystal structures, temperature, domain configurations, domain sizes and grain boundaries. The intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the total energy dissipation are quantified. In domain engineered ferroelectric single crystals and ceramics, polarization rotations, domain wall motions and mechanical wave scatterings at grain boundaries are believed to control the mechanical quality factors of piezoelectric resonators. We show that a thorough understanding on the kinetic processes is critical in analyzing energy loss behavior and other time-dependent properties in ferroelectric materials. At the end of the review, existing challenges in the study and control of losses in ferroelectric materials are analyzed, and future perspective in resolving these issues is discussed.

  5. Modelling of dielectric hysteresis loops in ferroelectric semiconductors with charged defects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morozovska, Anna N; Eliseev, Eugene A

    2004-01-01

    We have proposed the phenomenological description of dielectric hysteresis loops in ferroelectric semiconductors with charged defects and prevailing extrinsic conductivity. We have modified the Landau-Ginsburg approach and shown that the macroscopic state of the aforementioned inhomogeneous system can be described by three coupled equations for three order parameters. Both the experimentally observed coercive field values well below the thermodynamic values and the various hysteresis-loop deformations (constricted and double loops) have been obtained in the framework of our model. The obtained results quantitatively explain the ferroelectric switching in such ferroelectric materials as thick PZT films

  6. Frontiers of ferroelectricity a special issue of the journal of materials science

    CERN Document Server

    Lang, Sidney B

    2007-01-01

    The book presents theory, fundamentals and some applications of ferroelectricy. The 24 chapters comprise reviews and research reports covering the spectrum of ferroelectricity. It is intended to describe the current levels of understanding of various aspects of ferroelectricity as presented by authorities in the field. Topics include relaxors, piezoelectrics, microscale and nanoscale studies, polymers and composites, unusual properties, and techniques and devices. The information in this book is intended for physicists, engineers and materials scientists working with ferroelectric materials including ceramics, single crystals, polymers, composites and even some biological materials.

  7. Cofiring behavior and interfacial structure of NiCuZn ferrite/PMN ferroelectrics composites for multilayer LC filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miao Chunlin; Zhou Ji; Cui Xuemin; Wang Xiaohui; Yue Zhenxing; Li Longtu

    2006-01-01

    The cofiring behavior, interfacial structure and cofiring migration between NiCuZn ferrite and lead magnesium niobate (PMN)-based relaxor ferroelectric materials were investigated via thermomechanical analyzer (TMA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Mismatched sintering shrinkage between NiCuZn ferrite and PMN was modified by adding an appropriate amount of sintering aids, Bi 2 O 3 , into NiCuZn ferrite. Pyrochlore phase appeared in the mixture of NiCuZn ferrite and PMN, which is detrimental to the final electric properties of LC filters. EDS results indicated that the interdiffusion at the heterogeneous interfaces in the composites, such as Fe, Pb, Zn, existed which can strengthen combinations between ferrite layers and ferroelectrics layers

  8. Innovative architectures in ferroelectric multi-materials: Chemistry, interfaces and strain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Elissalde

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Breakthroughs can be expected in multi-component ceramics by adjusting the phase assembly and the micro–nanostructure. Controlling the architecture of multi-materials at different scales is still challenging and provides a great opportunity to broaden the range of functionalities in the field of ferroelectric-based ceramics. We used the potentialities of Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS to control a number of key parameters regarding the properties: anisotropy, interfaces, grain size and strain effects. The flexibility of the wet and supercritical chemistry routes associated with the versatility of SPS allowed designing new ferroelectric composite ceramics at different scales. These approaches are illustrated through various examples based on our work on ferroelectric/dielectric composites.

  9. Ferroelectric domain inversion and its stability in lithium niobate thin film on insulator with different thicknesses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shao, Guang-hao; Bai, Yu-hang; Cui, Guo-xin; Li, Chen; Qiu, Xiang-biao; Wu, Di; Lu, Yan-qing, E-mail: yqlu@nju.edu.cn [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Geng, De-qiang [Jinan Jingzheng Electronics Co., Ltd., Jinan 250100 (China)

    2016-07-15

    Ferroelectric domain inversion and its effect on the stability of lithium niobate thin films on insulator (LNOI) are experimentally characterized. Two sets of specimens with different thicknesses varying from submicron to microns are selected. For micron thick samples (∼28 μm), domain structures are achieved by pulsed electric field poling with electrodes patterned via photolithography. No domain structure deterioration has been observed for a month as inspected using polarizing optical microscopy and etching. As for submicron (540 nm) films, large-area domain inversion is realized by scanning a biased conductive tip in a piezoelectric force microscope. A graphic processing method is taken to evaluate the domain retention. A domain life time of 25.0 h is obtained and possible mechanisms are discussed. Our study gives a direct reference for domain structure-related applications of LNOI, including guiding wave nonlinear frequency conversion, nonlinear wavefront tailoring, electro-optic modulation, and piezoelectric devices.

  10. Proceedings of the international conference on thin films and applications: book of abstracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    In the era of miniaturization, the role of thin films is highly significant to achieve smaller devices with higher speed especially in new generation of integrated circuits, sensors, flat panel displays, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), biomedical devices, optical instruments and microwave communications. Thin films as a nano-scale dimensional system have great importance to many challenging applications. Biological coatings, clean energy, ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films, ion beam thin films, magnetic thin films, nanostructured and nano composite coatings, NEMS, sensors, thin film preparation and characterization are the topics covered in this symposium. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

  11. Single-layer nano-carbon film, diamond film, and diamond/nano-carbon composite film field emission performance comparison

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xiaoping; Wang, Jinye; Wang, Lijun

    2016-01-01

    A series of single-layer nano-carbon (SNC) films, diamond films, and diamond/nano-carbon (D/NC) composite films have been prepared on the highly doped silicon substrate by using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition techniques. The films were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission I-V measurements. The experimental results indicated that the field emission maximum current density of D/NC composite films is 11.8–17.8 times that of diamond films. And the field emission current density of D/NC composite films is 2.9–5 times that of SNC films at an electric field of 3.0 V/μm. At the same time, the D/NC composite film exhibits the advantage of improved reproducibility and long term stability (both of the nano-carbon film within the D/NC composite cathode and the SNC cathode were prepared under the same experimental conditions). And for the D/NC composite sample, a high current density of 10 mA/cm"2 at an electric field of 3.0 V/μm was obtained. Diamond layer can effectively improve the field emission characteristics of nano-carbon film. The reason may be due to the diamond film acts as the electron acceleration layer.

  12. Effects of Thickness, Pulse Duration, and Size of Strip Electrode on Ferroelectric Electron Emission of Lead Zirconate Titanate Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaseen, Muhammad; Ren, Wei; Chen, Xiaofeng; Feng, Yujun; Shi, Peng; Wu, Xiaoqing

    2018-02-01

    Sol-gel-derived lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin-film emitters with thickness up to 9.8 μm have been prepared on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si wafer via chemical solution deposition with/without polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) modification, and the relationship between the film thickness and electron emission investigated. Notable electron emission was observed on application of a trigger voltage of 120 V for PZT film with thickness of 1.1 μm. Increasing the film thickness decreased the threshold field to initiate electron emission for non-PVP-modified films. In contrast, the electron emission behavior of PVP-modified films did not show significant dependence on film thickness, probably due to their porous structure. The emission current increased with decreasing strip width and space between strips. Furthermore, it was observed that increasing the duration of the applied pulse increased the magnitude of the emission current. The stray field on the PZT film thickness was also calculated and found to increase with increasing ferroelectric sample thickness. The PZT emitters were found to be fatigue free up to 105 emission cycles. Saturated emission current of around 25 mA to 30 mA was achieved for the electrode pattern used in this work.

  13. Electrical and ferroelectric properties of RF sputtered PZT/SBN on silicon for non-volatile memory applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Prashant; Jha, Rajesh Kumar; Singh, Rajat Kumar; Singh, B. R.

    2018-02-01

    We report the integration of multilayer ferroelectric film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and explore the electrical characteristics for its application as the gate of ferroelectric field effect transistor for non-volatile memories. PZT (Pb[Zr0.35Ti0.65]O3) and SBN (SrBi2Nb2O9) ferroelectric materials were selected for the stack fabrication due to their large polarization and fatigue free properties respectively. Electrical characterization has been carried out to obtain memory window, leakage current density, PUND and endurance characteristics. Fabricated multilayer ferroelectric film capacitor structure shows large memory window of 17.73 V and leakage current density of the order 10-6 A cm-2 for the voltage sweep of -30 to +30 V. This multilayer gate stack of PZT/SBN shows promising endurance property with no degradation in the remnant polarization for the read/write iteration cycles upto 108.

  14. A Review of Domain Modelling and Domain Imaging Techniques in Ferroelectric Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John E. Huber

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The present paper reviews models of domain structure in ferroelectric crystals, thin films and bulk materials. Common crystal structures in ferroelectric materials are described and the theory of compatible domain patterns is introduced. Applications to multi-rank laminates are presented. Alternative models employing phase-field and related techniques are reviewed. The paper then presents methods of observing ferroelectric domain structure, including optical, polarized light, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray and neutron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and piezo-force microscopy. Use of more than one technique for unambiguous identification of the domain structure is also described.

  15. Nonlinear piezoelectricity in epitaxial ferroelectrics at high electric fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigoriev, Alexei; Sichel, Rebecca; Lee, Ho Nyung; Landahl, Eric C; Adams, Bernhard; Dufresne, Eric M; Evans, Paul G

    2008-01-18

    Nonlinear effects in the coupling of polarization with elastic strain have been predicted to occur in ferroelectric materials subjected to high electric fields. Such predictions are tested here for a PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 ferroelectric thin film at electric fields in the range of several hundred MV/m and strains reaching up to 2.7%. The piezoelectric strain exceeds predictions based on constant piezoelectric coefficients at electric fields from approximately 200 to 400 MV/m, which is consistent with a nonlinear effect predicted to occur at corresponding piezoelectric distortions.

  16. Suppression of slow capacitance relaxation phenomenon in Pt/Ba0.3Sr0.7TiO3/Pt thin film ferroelectric structures by annealing in oxygen atmosphere

    KAUST Repository

    Altynnikov, A. G.; Gagarin, A. G.; Gaidukov, M. M.; Tumarkin, A. V.; Petrov, P. K.; Alford, N.; Kozyrev, A. B.

    2014-01-01

    The impact of oxygen annealing on the switching time of ferroelectric thin film capacitor structures Pt/Ba0.3Sr0.7TiO3/Pt was investigated. The response of their capacitance on pulsed control voltages before and after annealing was experimentally

  17. Effects of oxygen partial pressure on the ferroelectric properties of pulsed laser deposited Ba{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}TiO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, J.P.B.; Sekhar, K.C.; Pereira, M.; Gomes, M.J.M. [University of Minho, Centre of Physics, Braga (Portugal); Almeida, A.; Agostinho Moreira, J. [IFIMUP and IN-Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Departamento de Fisica e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade do Porto, Porto (Portugal)

    2013-11-15

    The Ba{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}TiO{sub 3} thin films were grown on the Pt-Si substrate at 700 C by using a pulsed laser deposition technique at different oxygen partial pressure (PO{sub 2}) in the range of 1-20 Pa and their properties were investigated. It is observed that the PO{sub 2} during the deposition plays an important role on the tetragonal distortion ratio, surface morphology, dielectric permittivity, ferroelectric polarization, switching response, and leakage currents of the films. With an increase in PO{sub 2}, the in-plane strain for the BST films changes from tensile to compressive. The films grown at 7.5 Pa show the optimum dielectric and ferroelectric properties and also exhibit the good polarization stability. It is assumed that a reasonable compressive strain, increasing the ionic displacement, and thus promotes the in-plane polarization in the field direction, could improve the dielectric permittivity. The butterfly features of the capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics and the bell shape curve in polarization current were attributed to the domain reversal process. The effect of pulse amplitude on the polarization reversal behavior of the BST films grown at PO{sub 2} of 7.5 Pa was studied. The peak value of the polarization current shows exponential dependence on the electric field. (orig.)

  18. Dielectric behaviour of the composite system: multiwall carbon nanotubes dispersed in ferroelectric liquid crystalline material

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Shukla, R.K.; Raina, K.K.; Hamplová, Věra; Kašpar, Miroslav; Bubnov, Alexej

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 84, 9-10 (2011), 850-857 ISSN 0141-1594 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100100911; GA AV ČR(CZ) GA202/09/0047; GA ČR(CZ) GAP204/11/0723 Grant - others:RFASI(RU) 02.740.11.5166 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : ferroelectric liquid crystal * multiwall carbon nanotube * composite * mesomorphic property * dielectric spectroscopy Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.006, year: 2011

  19. An Automated Ab Initio Framework for Identifying New Ferroelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smidt, Tess; Reyes-Lillo, Sebastian E.; Jain, Anubhav; Neaton, Jeffrey B.

    Ferroelectric materials have a wide-range of technological applications including non-volatile RAM and optoelectronics. In this work, we present an automated first-principles search for ferroelectrics. We integrate density functional theory, crystal structure databases, symmetry tools, workflow software, and a custom analysis toolkit to build a library of known and proposed ferroelectrics. We screen thousands of candidates using symmetry relations between nonpolar and polar structure pairs. We use two search strategies 1) polar-nonpolar pairs with the same composition and 2) polar-nonpolar structure type pairs. Results are automatically parsed, stored in a database, and accessible via a web interface showing distortion animations and plots of polarization and total energy as a function of distortion. We benchmark our results against experimental data, present new ferroelectric candidates found through our search, and discuss future work on expanding this search methodology to other material classes such as anti-ferroelectrics and multiferroics.

  20. Improved high-frequency soft magnetic properties of FeCo films on organic ferroelectric PVDF substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Dong; Wang, Zhen; Han, Xuemeng; Li, Yue; Guo, Xiaobin; Zuo, Yalu; Xi, Li, E-mail: xili@lzu.edu.cn

    2015-02-01

    FeCo films with various thicknesses were fabricated by direct-current magnetron sputtering on corning glass and organic ferroelectric PVDF substrates at the same time with 5 nm Ru seed layer and 5 nm Ta protective layer. The in-plane uniaxial anisotropy field of FeCo on glass substrate increases from 24 to 36 Oe with the increase of FeCo film thickness from 5 to 100 nm. However, a large in-plane anisotropy field of FeCo on PVDF substrate increases with FeCo thickness from 5 to 20 nm and gradually decreases with the FeCo thickness further increasing. Atomic force microscope images of FeCo on glass show quite smooth surface with root-mean-square roughness around 0.5 nm and have none visible granules on the surface for all samples. While, AFM images of FeCo on PVDF show quite rough surface with RMS roughness around 25 nm and have visible granules with the smallest granules appearing at the FeCo thickness of 20 nm. The permeability spectra show the typical ferromagnetic resonance phenomenon and can be well fitted by the LLG equation with the obtained experimental parameters. The ferromagnetic resonance frequency can reach 7.0 GHz for the 20 nm FeCo film on PVDF. Moreover, the quality factor of this sample can respectively reach 26, 12 and 7 at 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 GHz, indicating the potential real 3G application for high-frequency devices. - Highlights: 1.Magnetic and morphological properties of FeCo films on PVDF substrates are studied. 2.The large anisotropy field of FeCo films on PVDF is obtained. 3.Improved high frequency properties of FeCo films on flexible substrates are obtained. 4.The origin of improved high frequency properties of FeCo films on PVDF is studied.

  1. Optical, ferroelectric and magnetic properties of multiferroelectric BiFeO3-(K0.5Na0.5)0.4(Sr 0.6Ba0.4)0.8Nb2O6 thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Yingbang

    2014-02-01

    Multiferroic BiFeO3-(K0.5Na0.5) 0.4(Sr0.6Ba0.4)0.8Nb 2O6 (BFO-KNSBN) trilayer thin films, were epitaxially grown on MgO(0 0 1) and SrTiO3(0 0 1) by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Their ferroelectric, magnetic, dielectric and optical properties were investigated. It was found that both ferroelectric polarization and dielectric constant of the films were enhanced by introducing KNSBN as a barrier layer. Meanwhile, ferromagnetism of BFO was maintained. More interestingly, a double hysteresis magnetic loop was observed in the KNSBN-BFO-KNSBN trilayer films, where exchange bias and secondary phase in the BFO layer played crucial roles. Interactions between adjacent layers were revealed by temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopic measurements. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Sol-gel reaction stability studied: Influence in the formation temperature and properties of ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, J.; Vilarinho, P.M.; Kholkin, A.L.; Almeida, A.

    2009-01-01

    Lead zirconium titanate (PZT) sol-gel solutions were prepared based on distilled lead acetate precursor solutions. A detailed analysis of the distillation effect on the lead precursor and the final PZT solution were carried out by Infrared and Raman techniques. It was found that the increase in the number of distillation steps experienced by the lead precursor solutions removes the constitutional water and increases the lead acetate-2-methoxyethanol interconnectivity; thus improving stability and avoiding the aging effect of the resulting PZT solutions. The thermal decomposition process of the PZT solutions was analyzed based on the thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTA) measurements. It was found that as the number of distillation steps in the lead precursor solutions increases, the decomposition rate increases and the formation temperature of pure perovskite PZT films decreases. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used to study the film phase formation. A pure perovskite phase at 500 deg. C was found by the XRD analysis after the second distillation step. Scanning electron microscope technique was used to carry out the microstructural analysis. Dense microstructure was found in all analyzed films and an incipient columnar grain growth was revealed in PZT films prepared based on lead precursor solution with more than three distillation steps. The dependence of the dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties on the number of distillation steps was revealed and a correlation between the distillation process, film microstructure properties and electrical performance was established

  3. Effect of incorporating nonlanthanoidal indium on the ferroelectric performance of Bi4Ti3O12 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Y. C.; Kuo, D. H.

    2006-08-01

    Nonlanthanoid-substituted In-x-Bi4Ti3O12 films with different indium contents at x =0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.5, based upon the chemical formula of (Bi4-xInx)Ti3O12, were prepared at 600°C by chemical solution deposition. In-0.4-Bi4Ti3O12 films displayed a large remanent polarization of 57μC /cm2, coercive field of 100KV/cm, high nonvolatile polarization ⩾30μC/cm2 after 1010 switching cycles, and low annealing temperature of 600°C. Good ferroelectric properties are mainly attributed to the partial substitution of the smaller-sized Ti4+ site by the larger-sized In3+ to enhance electrical polarization by a dimensional change of unit cell and to provide fatigue resistance by lattice distortion and chemical stabilization.

  4. Fabrication and properties of multiferroic nanocomposite films

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Nassar, Mohammed Y.; Ivanov, Yurii P.; Kosel, Jü rgen

    2015-01-01

    A new type of multiferroic polymer nanocomposite is presented, which exhibits excellent ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity simultaneously at room temperature. The multiferroic nanocomposite consists of a ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylindene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] and high aspect ratio ferromagnetic nickel (Ni) nanowires (NWs), which were grown inside anodic aluminum oxide membranes. The fabrication of nanocomposite films with Ni NWs embedded in P(VDF-TrFE) has been successfully carried out via a simple low-temperature spin-coating technique. Structural, ferromagnetic, and ferroelectric properties of the developed nanocomposite have been investigated. The remanent and saturation polarization as well as the coercive field of the ferroelectric phase are slightly affected by the incorporation of the NWs as well as the thickness of the films. While the former two decrease, the last increases by adding the NWs or increasing the thickness. The ferromagnetic properties of the nanocomposite films are found to be isotropic.

  5. Effects of Nb doping on the microstructure, ferroelectric and ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ·cm) and the poor piezoelectric performance and weak ferroelectricity are observed after the addition of .... 9.81–13.88% (<15%) and the goodness-of-fit indicator S ..... the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin. Films and ...

  6. Influences of annealing temperature on characteristics of composite materials consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwak, Jin Ho; Han, Jin Kyu; Cho, Sam Yeon; Bu, Sang Don

    2012-01-01

    We report the synthesis and the characterization of composite materials consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (CNT-PZT) in a film structure. The CNT-PZT films were prepared by using a sol-gel process, a spin-coating method and a rapid thermal annealing process. CNT bundles in 2-methoxyethanol solution were mixed with a 7-wt% PZT sol-gel solution. The CNT-PZT solution was deposited onto (111) Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si substrates by spin-coating at 3000 rpm for 60 s and was then pyrolyzed. The samples were annealed at various temperatures in an oxygen atmosphere for crystallization. The morphological, structural and electrical properties of CNT-PZT composite films were studied with a field-emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and polarization-voltage hysteresis loops, respectively. We found that, during the annealing process, the thickness of CNT-PZT films dramatically decrease, especially in the range of 500 to 600 .deg. C, which may be related with the loss of CNTs in that temperature region due to burning. The CNTs also affect the orientation of and the number of defects in the PZT films, which change the ferroelectric properties of the films.

  7. Preparation and Characterization of Chitosan—Agarose Composite Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Hu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, there is a growing interest to develop biodegradable functional composite materials for food packaging and biomedicine applications from renewable sources. Some composite films were prepared by the casting method using chitosan (CS and agarose (AG in different mass ratios. The composite films were analyzed for physical-chemical-mechanical properties including tensile strength (TS, elongation-at-break (EB, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR, swelling ratio, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and morphology observations. The antibacterial properties of the composite films were also evaluated. The obtained results reveal that an addition of AG in varied proportions to a CS solution leads to an enhancement of the composite film’s tensile strength, elongation-at-break, and water vapor transmission rate. The composite film with an agarose mass concentration of 60% was of the highest water uptake capacity. These improvements can be explained by the chemical structures of the new composite films, which contain hydrogen bonding interactions between the chitosan and agarose as shown by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR analysis and the micro-pore structures as observed with optical microscopes and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The antibacterial results demonstrated that the films with agarose mass concentrations ranging from 0% to 60% possessed antibacterial properties. These results indicate that these composite films, especially the composite film with an agarose mass concentration of 60%, exhibit excellent potential to be used in food packaging and biomedical materials.

  8. Growth and physical properties of highly oriented La-doped (K,Na)NbO3 ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vendrell, X.; Raymond, O.; Ochoa, D.A.; García, J.E.; Mestres, L.

    2015-01-01

    Lead-free (K,Na)NbO 3 (KNN) and La doped (K,Na)NbO 3 (KNN-La) thin films are grown on SrTiO 3 substrates using the chemical solution deposition method. The effect of adding different amounts of Na and K excess (0–20 mol%) is investigated. The results confirm the necessity of adding 20 mol% excess amounts of Na and K precursor solutions in order to avoid the formation of the secondary phase, K 4 Nb 6 O 17 , as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, when adding a 20 mol% of alkaline metal excess, the thin films are highly textured with out-of-plane preferential orientation in the [100] direction of the [100] orientation of the substrate. Doping with lanthanum results in a decrease of the leakage current density at low electric field, and an increase in the dielectric permittivity across the whole temperature range (80–380 K). Although the (100)-oriented KNN and KNN-La films exhibited rounded hysteresis loops, at low temperatures the films show the typical ferroelectric hysteresis loops. - Highlights: • (K 0.5 Na 0.5 )NbO 3 and [(K 0.5 Na 0.5 ) 0.985 La 0.005 ]NbO 3 thin films have been prepared. • The obtained thin films show an excellent (100) preferred orientation. • Doping with lanthanum results in a decrease of the leakage current density. • The dielectric properties are enhanced when doping with lanthanum

  9. Characterization of PZT thin films on metal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutschke, A.

    2008-01-01

    Lead zirconate titanate (PbZr x Ti 1-x O 3 ,PZT) is one of the most applied ceramic materials because of its distinctive piezo- and ferroelectric properties. Prepared as thin films on flexible, metallic substrates it can be used for various applications as strain gauges, key switches, vibration dampers, microactuators and ultrasonic transducers. The aim of this work is to analyze the microstructure and the phase-content of PZT-thin films deposited on temperature- und acid-resistant hastelloy-sheets, to correlate the results with the ferroelectric and dielectric properties. It is demonstrated, that the specific variation of the microstructure can be achieved by different thermal treatments and the selective addition of Neodymium as dopant. Nd-doping leads to a shift of the maximum nucleation rate towards reduced temperatures and a decrease in the rate of growth compared to undoped films. The PZT-films are prepared by a sol-gel-process in fourfold multilayers with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary, where the tetragonal und rhombohedral perovskite-phases coexist. The crystallisation in Nd-doped and undoped films takes place heterogeneously, preferentially at the interfaces and on the surface of the multilayered films as well as on the inner surface of pores within the films. For the first time, the Zr:Ti fluctuation phenomena emerging in sol-gel derived PZT films is related to the microstructure and the local phase content on a nanometer scale. In this connection it is proved, that long-distance Zr:Ti gradients arise preferentially before and during the crystallisation of the pyrochlore phase. During the following crystallisation of the perovskite phase, the crystallites grow across these gradients without modifying them. It is pointed out that the fluctuation in the Zr:Ti ratio has only minor influence on the amount of the tetragonal or rhombohedral distortion of the crystallites after the transition from the para- to the ferroelectric state due to

  10. Low temperature formation of ferroelectric PbTiO3 films by laser ablation with 2nd laser irradiation; Reiki hikari laser heiyo laser ablation ho ni yoru kyoyudentai PbTiO3 usumaku no teion keisei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tabata, H.; Kawai, T. [Osaka University, Osaka (Japan)

    1997-08-20

    The unique advantage of the pulsed laser deposition is its ability to produce highly oriented stoichiometric films at a low substrate temperature. Ferroelectric PbTiO3 thin films have been formed using 2nd laser assisted laser ablaion technique at low temperature, i.e., 350degC, on Sr7iO3 single-crystal substrates and Pt/MgO electrodes. The second laser irradiation at the substrate surface is quite effective for crystallization of the films at low substrate temperature below 400degC. The suitable energy density (fluence) of the irradiation laser is in the range of 30-100 mJ/cm{sup 2}. X-ray diffraction patterns of PbTiO3 thin films show c-axis orientation, with a rocking angle of 1.0 - 0.5deg. These films exhibit ferroelectric hysteresis loop. The dielectric constant and remanent polalyzation of the PbTiO3 films are in the range of 120-150 and 60-80 {mu}C/cm{sup 2}, respectively. 31 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.

  11. Optical properties of ferroelectric epitaxial K.sub.0.5./sub.Na.sub.0.5./sub.NbO.sub.3./sub. films in visible to ultraviolet range

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chernova, Ekaterina; Pacherová, Oliva; Kocourek, Tomáš; Jelínek, Miroslav; Dejneka, Alexandr; Tyunina, Marina

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 11, č. 4 (2016), 1-9, č. článku e0153261. E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-13778S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : optical properties * ferroelectric * epitaxial films Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 2.806, year: 2016

  12. Theoretical study of ferroelectric nanoparticles using phase reconstructed electron microscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Phatak, C.; Petford-Long, A. K.; Beleggia, Marco

    2014-01-01

    Ferroelectric nanostructures are important for a variety of applications in electronic and electro-optical devices, including nonvolatile memories and thin-film capacitors. These applications involve stability and switching of polarization using external stimuli, such as electric fields. We prese...

  13. Fabrication and characterization of silk fibroin/bioactive glass composite films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Hailin; Liu Na; Feng Xinxing; Chen Jianyong

    2012-01-01

    Composite films of silk fibroin (SF) with nano bioactive glass (NBG) were prepared by the solvent casting method, and the structures and properties of the composite films were characterized. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis shows that the random coil and β-sheet structure co-exist in the SF films. Results of field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) indicate that the NBG particles are uniformly dispersed in the SF films. The measurements of the water contact angles suggest that the incorporation of NBG into SF can improve the hydrophilicity of the composites. The bioactivity of the composite films was evaluated by soaking in 1.5 times simulated body fluid (1.5 × SBF), and formation of a hydroxycarbonate apatite (HCA) layer was determined by XRD and FESEM. The results show that the SF/NBG composite film is bioactive as it induces the formation of HCA on the surface of the composite film after soaking in 1.5 × SBF for 7 days. In vitro osteoblasts attachment and proliferation tests show that the composite film is a good matrix for the growth of osteoblasts. Consequently, the incorporation of NBG into the SF film can enhance both the bioactivity and biocompatibility of the film, which suggests that the SF/NBG composite film may be a potential biomaterial for bone tissue engineering. - Highlights: ► The incorporation of NBG into SF can improve the hydrophilicity of the SF/NBG composite films. ► The SF/NBG composite films show the better bioactivity than the pure SF film. ► The SF/NBG composite films facilitate cell growth and promote cell proliferation and differentiation.

  14. Effect of Coercive Voltage and Charge Injection on Performance of a Ferroelectric-Gate Thin-Film Transistor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. T. Tue

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We adopted a lanthanum oxide capping layer between semiconducting channel and insulator layers for fabrication of a ferroelectric-gate thin-film transistor memory (FGT which uses solution-processed indium-tin-oxide (ITO and lead-zirconium-titanate (PZT film as a channel layer and a gate insulator, respectively. Good transistor characteristics such as a high “on/off” current ratio, high channel mobility, and a large memory window of 108, 15.0 cm2 V−1 s−1, and 3.5 V were obtained, respectively. Further, a correlation between effective coercive voltage, charge injection effect, and FGT’s memory window was investigated. It is found that the charge injection from the channel to the insulator layer, which occurs at a high electric field, dramatically influences the memory window. The memory window’s enhancement can be explained by a dual effect of the capping layer: (1 a reduction of the charge injection and (2 an increase of effective coercive voltage dropped on the insulator.

  15. Modification of phase transitions in swift heavy ion irradiated and MMA-grafted ferroelectric fluoro-polymers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersohn, E.; Betz, N.; Le Moel, A.

    1994-01-01

    Ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (β) and copolymers of vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (P(VDF/TrFE)) films were irradiated with swift heavy ions and post irradiation grafted with methyl methacrylate (MMA). We have studied the influence of irradiation parameters such as the ion fluence, the type of ion and the electronic stopping power, on the melting and crystallization temperatures and the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transitions, by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric measurements. The relation between the shift in the transition temperatures and the ion fluence is described by a single term equation. Ion track grafting with MMA affects the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transitions in P(VDF/TrFE) and leads to a strong amorphization of the polymer films. The grafting in β PVDF occurs mainly on the surface of the samples and no change in the transition temperatures is observed. (authors). 12 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs

  16. Integration and electrical properties of epitaxial LiNbO{sub 3} ferroelectric film on n-type GaN semiconductor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hao Lanzhong, E-mail: hao_lanzhong@live.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Faculty of Science, China University of Petroleum, Tsingtao, Shandong 266555 (China); Zhu Jun, E-mail: junzhu@uestc.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Liu Yunjie [Faculty of Science, China University of Petroleum, Tsingtao, Shandong 266555 (China); Wang Shuili; Zeng Huizhong; Liao Xiuwei; Liu Yingying; Lei Huawei; Zhang Ying; Zhang Wanli; Li Yanrong [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)

    2012-01-31

    LiNbO{sub 3} (LNO) films were epitaxially grown on n-type GaN templates using pulsed laser deposition technique. The microstructures and electrical properties of the LNO/GaN heterostructure were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The LNO films had two variants of grains rotated 60 Degree-Sign in-plane to each other. The epitaxial relationship of the respective variants could be built as [10-10]LNO//[1-210]GaN and [1-100]LNO//[11-20]GaN via 30 Degree-Sign in-plane rotation of the LNO film relative to the GaN layer. Interface analysis of the heterostructure demonstrated that two different epitaxial growth mechanisms vertical heteroepitaxy and lateral homoepitaxy, should happen at the interface of LNO/GaN. Counterclockwise C-V windows induced by the ferroelectric polarizations of LNO film could be observed clearly. The size of the window increased with increasing the sweep bias and a large window of 5.8 V was achieved at {+-} 15 V. By solving Poisson and drift-diffusion equations, the physical mechanisms of the C-V characteristics were demonstrated.

  17. Local Fatigue Evaluation in PZT Thin Films with Nanoparticles by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

    OpenAIRE

    B. S. Li

    2012-01-01

    Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with the morphotropic phase boundary composition (Zr/Ti = 52/48) have been prepared using a modified diol-based sol-gel route by introducing 1–5 mol% barium titanate (BT) nanoseeds into the precursor solution on platinized silicon substrates (Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si). Macroscopic electric properties of PZT film with nanoparticle showed a significant improvement of ferroelectric properties. This work aims at the systematic study of the local switching polarizatio...

  18. Electro-mechanical properties of free standing micro- and nano-scale polymer-ceramic composites for energy density capacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Paritosh; Borkar, Hitesh [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi, 110012 (India); Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) Campus, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi, 110012 (India); Singh, B.P.; Singh, V.N. [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi, 110012 (India); Kumar, Ashok, E-mail: ashok553@nplindia.org [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi, 110012 (India); Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) Campus, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi, 110012 (India)

    2015-11-05

    The integration of inorganic fillers in polymer matrix is useful for superior mechanical strength and functional properties of polymer-ceramic composites. We report the fabrication and characterization of polyvinylidene fluoride-CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (PVDF-CFO) (wt% 80:20, respectively) and PVDF-Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3}–CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (PVDF-PZT-CFO) (wt% 80:10:10, respectively) free standing 50 μm thick ferroelectric-polymer-ceramic composites films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and Raman spectra revealed the presence of major semi-crystalline β-PVDF along with α-phase which is responsible for ferroelectric nature in both the composite systems. Ferroelectric, dielectric and mechanical strength measurements were performed in order to evaluate the effects of CFO and PZT inorganic fillers in PVDF matrix. The inclusion of CFO and PZT micro-/nano-particles in PVDF polymer matrix improved the polarization behavior, dielectric properties and mechanical strength. The energy density was calculated by polarization-electric field hysteresis loop and found in the range of 6–8 J/cm{sup 3} may be useful for microelectronics. - Graphical abstract: Large area PVDF-PZT-CFO nano- and micro-composite films have been fabricated for high energy density storage flexible capacitor. Presence of nanocrystalline PZT and CFO particles in polymer matrix significantly enhanced their energy density capacity. - Highlights: • Physical interaction of cobalt iron oxide with polymer matrix results β-PVDF phase. • Evidence of Micro and Nano crystalline CFO and PZT fillers in polymer matrix. • The CFO and PZT fillers provide better mechanical strength to composite films. • PVDF-ceramic nanocomposites show low leakage behavior for high electric field.

  19. Theoretical study of ferroelectric nanoparticles using phase reconstructed electron microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phatak, C.; Petford-Long, A. K.; Beleggia, M.; De Graef, M.

    2014-06-01

    Ferroelectric nanostructures are important for a variety of applications in electronic and electro-optical devices, including nonvolatile memories and thin-film capacitors. These applications involve stability and switching of polarization using external stimuli, such as electric fields. We present a theoretical model describing how the shape of a nanoparticle affects its polarization in the absence of screening charges, and quantify the electron-optical phase shift for detecting ferroelectric signals with phase-sensitive techniques in a transmission electron microscope. We provide an example phase shift computation for a uniformly polarized prolate ellipsoid with varying aspect ratio in the absence of screening charges.

  20. Electron field emission from screen-printed graphene/DWCNT composite films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Jinzhuo; Pan, Rong; Chen, Yiwei; Piao, Xianqin; Qian, Min; Feng, Tao; Sun, Zhuo

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The field emission performance improved significantly when adding graphene into DWCNTs as the emission material. ► We set up a model of pure DWCNT films and graphene/DWCNT composite films. ► We discussed the contact barrier between emission films and electric substrates by considering the Fermi energies of silver, DWCNT and graphene. - Abstract: The electron field emission properties of graphene/double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) composite films prepared by screen printing have been systematically studied. Comparing with the pure DWCNT films and pure graphene films, a significant enhancement of electron emission performance of the composite films are observed, such as lower turn-on field, higher emission current density, higher field enhancement factor, and long-term stability. The optimized composite films with 20% weight ratio of graphene show the best electron emission performance with a low turn-on field of 0.62 V μm −1 (at 1 μA cm −2 ) and a high field enhancement factor β of 13,000. A model of the graphene/DWCNT composite films is proposed, which indicate that a certain amount of graphene will contribute the electron transmission in the silver substrate/composite films interface and in the interior of composite films, and finally improve the electron emission performance of the graphene/DWCNT composite films.

  1. Rewritable ferroelectric vortex pairs in BiFeO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yang; Jin, Yaming; Lu, Xiaomei; Yang, Jan-Chi; Chu, Ying-Hao; Huang, Fengzhen; Zhu, Jinsong; Cheong, Sang-Wook

    2017-08-01

    Ferroelectric vortex in multiferroic materials has been considered as a promising alternative to current memory cells for the merit of high storage density. However, the formation of regular natural ferroelectric vortex is difficult, restricting the achievement of vortex memory device. Here, we demonstrated the creation of ferroelectric vortex-antivortex pairs in BiFeO3 thin films by using local electric field. The evolution of the polar vortex structure is studied by piezoresponse force microscopy at nanoscale. The results reveal that the patterns and stability of vortex structures are sensitive to the poling position. Consecutive writing and erasing processes cause no influence on the original domain configuration. The Z4 proper coloring vortex-antivortex network is then analyzed by graph theory, which verifies the rationality of artificial vortex-antivortex pairs. This study paves a foundation for artificial regulation of vortex, which provides a possible pathway for the design and realization of non-volatile vortex memory devices and logical devices.

  2. Room Temperature Thin Film Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 Ku-Band Coupled MicrostripPhase Shifters: Effects of Film Thickness, Doping, Annealing and Substrate Choice

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanKeuls, F. W.; Mueller, C. H.; Miranda, F. A.; Romanofsky, R. R.; Canedy, C. L.; Aggarwal, S.; Venkatesan, T.; Ramesh, R.; Horwitz, S.; Chang, W.

    1999-01-01

    We report on measurements taken on over twenty Ku-band coupled microstrip phase shifters (CMPS) using thin ferroelectric films of Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3. This CMPS design is a recent innovation designed to take advantage of the high tunability and tolerate the high dielectric constant of ferroelectric films at Ku- and K-band frequencies. These devices are envisioned as a component in low-cost steerable beam phased area antennas, Comparisons are made between devices with differing film thickness, annealed vs unannealed, Mn-doped vs. undoped, and also substrates of LaAlO3 and MgO. A comparison between the CMPS structure and a CPW phase shifter was also made oil the same ferroelectric film.

  3. Optical, ferroelectric and magnetic properties of multiferroelectric BiFeO3-(K0.5Na0.5)0.4(Sr 0.6Ba0.4)0.8Nb2O6 thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Yingbang; Mak, C. L.

    2014-01-01

    were investigated. It was found that both ferroelectric polarization and dielectric constant of the films were enhanced by introducing KNSBN as a barrier layer. Meanwhile, ferromagnetism of BFO was maintained. More interestingly, a double hysteresis

  4. Giant enhancement in the ferroelectric field effect using a polarization gradient

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Zongquan [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States); Islam, Mohammad A. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States); Department of Physics, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, New York 13126 (United States); Spanier, Jonathan E., E-mail: spanier@drexel.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States); Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States)

    2015-10-19

    Coupling of switchable ferroelectric polarization with the carrier transport in an adjacent semiconductor enables a robust, non-volatile manipulation of the conductance in a host of low-dimensional systems, including the two-dimensional electron liquid that forms at the LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO)-SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) interface. However, strength of the gate-channel coupling is relatively weak, limited in part by the electrostatic potential difference across a ferroelectric gate. Here, through application of phenomenological Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory and self-consistent Poisson-Schrödinger model calculations, we show how compositional grading of PbZr{sub 1−x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 3} ferroelectric gates enables a more than twenty-five-fold increase in the LAO/STO channel conductance on/off ratios. Incorporation of polarization gradients in ferroelectric gates can enable breakthrough performance of ferroelectric non-volatile memories.

  5. Organic ferroelectric memory devices with inkjet-printed polymer electrodes on flexible substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Bhansali, Unnat Sampatraj

    2013-05-01

    Drop-on-demand piezoelectric inkjet-printing technique has been used to fabricate a functional cross-bar array of all-organic ferroelectric memory devices. The polymer-ferroelectric-polymer device consists of a ferroelectric copolymer P(VDF-TrFE) film sandwiched between inkjet-patterned, continuous, orthogonal lines of PEDOT:PSS polymer as the bottom and top electrodes. These devices exhibit well-saturated hysteresis curves with a maximum remnant polarization (Pr) = 6.7 μC/cm2, coercive field (E c) = 55 MV/m and a peak capacitance density of 45 nF/cm2. Our polarization fatigue measurements show that these devices retain ∼100% and 45% of their initial Pr values after 103 and 10 5 stress cycles, respectively. The overall performance and polarization retention characteristics of these ferroelectric capacitors with inkjet-printed polymer electrodes are comparable to metal and spin-cast polymer electrodes suggesting their potential use in large-area flexible electronics. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Nanodomain Engineering in Ferroelectric Capacitors with Graphene Electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Haidong; Wang, Bo; Li, Tao; Lipatov, Alexey; Lee, Hyungwoo; Rajapitamahuni, Anil; Xu, Ruijuan; Hong, Xia; Farokhipoor, Saeedeh; Martin, Lane W; Eom, Chang-Beom; Chen, Long-Qing; Sinitskii, Alexander; Gruverman, Alexei

    2016-10-12

    Polarization switching in ferroelectric capacitors is typically realized by application of an electrical bias to the capacitor electrodes and occurs via a complex process of domain structure reorganization. As the domain evolution in real devices is governed by the distribution of the nucleation centers, obtaining a domain structure of a desired configuration by electrical pulsing is challenging, if not impossible. Recent discovery of polarization reversal via the flexoelectric effect has opened a possibility for deterministic control of polarization in ferroelectric capacitors. In this paper, we demonstrate mechanical writing of arbitrary-shaped nanoscale domains in thin-film ferroelectric capacitors with graphene electrodes facilitated by a strain gradient induced by a tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). A phase-field modeling prediction of a strong effect of graphene thickness on the threshold load required to initiate mechanical switching has been confirmed experimentally. Deliberate voltage-free domain writing represents a viable approach for development of functional devices based on domain topology and electronic properties of the domains and domain walls.

  7. Electric field cycling behavior of ferroelectric hafnium oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schenk, Tony; Schroeder, Uwe; Pešić, Milan; Popovici, Mihaela; Pershin, Yuriy V; Mikolajick, Thomas

    2014-11-26

    HfO2 based ferroelectrics are lead-free, simple binary oxides with nonperovskite structure and low permittivity. They just recently started attracting attention of theoretical groups in the fields of ferroelectric memories and electrostatic supercapacitors. A modified approach of harmonic analysis is introduced for temperature-dependent studies of the field cycling behavior and the underlying defect mechanisms. Activation energies for wake-up and fatigue are extracted. Notably, all values are about 100 meV, which is 1 order of magnitude lower than for conventional ferroelectrics like lead zirconate titanate (PZT). This difference is mainly atttributed to the one to two orders of magnitude higher electric fields used for cycling and to the different surface to volume ratios between the 10 nm thin films in this study and the bulk samples of former measurements or simulations. Moreover, a new, analog-like split-up effect of switching peaks by field cycling is discovered and is explained by a network model based on memcapacitive behavior as a result of defect redistribution.

  8. Characterization of Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 thin films fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on Ir-based electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hee-Chul; Lee, Won-Jong

    2002-01-01

    Structural and electrical characteristics of Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 (PZT) ferroelectric thin films deposited on various Ir-based electrodes (Ir, IrO 2 , and Pt/IrO 2 ) using electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition were investigated. On the Ir electrode, stoichiometric PZT films with pure perovskite phase could be obtained over a very wide range of processing conditions. However, PZT films prepared on the IrO 2 electrode contain a large amount of PbO x phases and exhibited high Pb-excess composition. The deposition characteristics were dependent on the behavior of PbO molecules on the electrode surface. The PZT thin film capacitors prepared on the Ir bottom electrode showed different electrical properties depending on top electrode materials. The PZT capacitors with Ir, IrO 2 , and Pt top electrodes showed good leakage current characteristics, whereas those with the Ru top electrode showed a very high leakage current density. The PZT capacitor exhibited the best fatigue endurance with an IrO 2 top electrode. An Ir top electrode provided better fatigue endurance than a Pt top electrode. The PZT capacitor with an Ir-based electrode is thought to be attractive for the application to ferroelectric random access memory devices because of its wide processing window for a high-quality ferroelectric film and good polarization, fatigue, and leakage current characteristics

  9. Silicon-integrated thin-film structure for electro-optic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick Joseph

    2000-01-01

    A crystalline thin-film structure suited for use in any of an number of electro-optic applications, such as a phase modulator or a component of an interferometer, includes a semiconductor substrate of silicon and a ferroelectric, optically-clear thin film of the perovskite BaTiO.sub.3 overlying the surface of the silicon substrate. The BaTiO.sub.3 thin film is characterized in that substantially all of the dipole moments associated with the ferroelectric film are arranged substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate to enhance the electro-optic qualities of the film.

  10. Nonlinear modeling of ferroelectric-ferromagnetic composites based on condensed and finite element approaches (Presentation Video)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricoeur, Andreas; Lange, Stephan; Avakian, Artjom

    2015-04-01

    Magnetoelectric (ME) coupling is an inherent property of only a few crystals exhibiting very low coupling coefficients at low temperatures. On the other hand, these materials are desirable due to many promising applications, e.g. as efficient data storage devices or medical or geophysical sensors. Efficient coupling of magnetic and electric fields in materials can only be achieved in composite structures. Here, ferromagnetic (FM) and ferroelectric (FE) phases are combined e.g. including FM particles in a FE matrix or embedding fibers of the one phase into a matrix of the other. The ME coupling is then accomplished indirectly via strain fields exploiting magnetostrictive and piezoelectric effects. This requires a poling of the composite, where the structure is exposed to both large magnetic and electric fields. The efficiency of ME coupling will strongly depend on the poling process. Besides the alignment of local polarization and magnetization, it is going along with cracking, also being decisive for the coupling properties. Nonlinear ferroelectric and ferromagnetic constitutive equations have been developed and implemented within the framework of a multifield, two-scale FE approach. The models are microphysically motivated, accounting for domain and Bloch wall motions. A second, so called condensed approach is presented which doesn't require the implementation of a spatial discretisation scheme, however still considering grain interactions and residual stresses. A micromechanically motivated continuum damage model is established to simulate degradation processes. The goal of the simulation tools is to predict the different constitutive behaviors, ME coupling properties and lifetime of smart magnetoelectric devices.

  11. Electrophoretic deposition of composite halloysite nanotube–hydroxyapatite–hyaluronic acid films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deen, I. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L7 (Canada); Zhitomirsky, I., E-mail: zhitom@mcmaster.ca [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L7 (Canada)

    2014-02-15

    Highlights: ► Composite halloysite nanotubes–hydroxyapatite–hyaluronic acid films were prepared. ► Electrophoretic deposition method was used for deposition. ► Natural hyaluronic acid was used as a dispersing, charging and film forming agent. ► Film composition and deposition yield can be varied. ► The films can be used for biomedical implants with controlled release of drugs. -- Abstract: Electrophoretic deposition method has been developed for the deposition of biocomposite films containing halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), hydroxyapatite (HA) and hyaluronic acid. The method is based on the use of natural hyaluronate biopolymer as a dispersing and charging agent for HNT and HA and film forming agent for the fabrication of the composite films. The deposition kinetics was studied by the quartz crystal microbalance method. The composite films were studied by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis and electron microscopy. The composite films are promising materials for the fabrication of biomedical implants with advanced functional properties.

  12. Electrophoretic deposition of composite halloysite nanotube–hydroxyapatite–hyaluronic acid films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deen, I.; Zhitomirsky, I.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: ► Composite halloysite nanotubes–hydroxyapatite–hyaluronic acid films were prepared. ► Electrophoretic deposition method was used for deposition. ► Natural hyaluronic acid was used as a dispersing, charging and film forming agent. ► Film composition and deposition yield can be varied. ► The films can be used for biomedical implants with controlled release of drugs. -- Abstract: Electrophoretic deposition method has been developed for the deposition of biocomposite films containing halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), hydroxyapatite (HA) and hyaluronic acid. The method is based on the use of natural hyaluronate biopolymer as a dispersing and charging agent for HNT and HA and film forming agent for the fabrication of the composite films. The deposition kinetics was studied by the quartz crystal microbalance method. The composite films were studied by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis and electron microscopy. The composite films are promising materials for the fabrication of biomedical implants with advanced functional properties

  13. Giant flexoelectric polarization in a micromachined ferroelectric diaphragm

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhihong

    2012-08-14

    The coupling between dielectric polarization and strain gradient, known as flexoelectricity, becomes significantly large on the micro- and nanoscale. Here, it is shown that giant flexoelectric polarization can reverse remnant ferroelectric polarization in a bent Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48) O3 (PZT) diaphragm fabricated by micromachining. The polarization induced by the strain gradient and the switching behaviors of the polarization in response to an external electric field are investigated by observing the electromechanical coupling of the diaphragm. The method allows determination of the absolute zero polarization state in a PZT film, which is impossible using other existing methods. Based on the observation of the absolute zero polarization state and the assumption that bending of the diaphragm is the only source of the self-polarization, the upper bound of flexoelectric coefficient of PZT film is calculated to be as large as 2.0 × 10-4 C m -1. The strain gradient induced by bending the diaphragm is measured to be on the order of 102 m-1, three orders of magnitude larger than that obtained in the bulk material. Because of this large strain gradient, the estimated giant flexoelectric polarization in the bent diaphragm is on the same order of magnitude as the normal remnant ferroelectric polarization of PZT film. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Ferro electrical properties of GeSbTe thin films; Propiedades ferroelectricas de peliculas delgadas de GeSbTe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gervacio A, J. J.; Prokhorov, E.; Espinoza B, F. J., E-mail: jgervacio@qro.cinvestav.m [IPN, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Unidad Queretaro, Libramiento Norponiente No. 2000, Juriquilla, 76230 Queretaro (Mexico)

    2011-07-01

    The aim of this work is to investigate and compare ferro electrical properties of thin GeSbTe films with composition Ge{sub 4}Sb{sub 1}Te{sub 5} (with well defined ferro electrical properties) and Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} using impedance, optical reflection, XRD, DSc and Piezo response Force Microscopy techniques. The temperature dependence of the capacitance in both materials shows an abrupt change at the temperature corresponding to ferroelectric-paraelectric transition and the Curie-Weiss dependence. In Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} films this transition corresponds to the end from a NaCl-type to a hexagonal transformation. Piezo response Force Microscopy measurements found ferroelectric domains with dimension approximately equal to the dimension of grains. (Author)

  15. Biosensors Based on Ultrathin Film Composite Membranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-01-25

    composite membranes should have a number C •’ of potential advantages including fast response time, simplicity of construction, and applicability to a number...The support membrane for the ultrathin film composite was an Anopore ( Alltech Associates) microporous alumina filter, these membranes are 55 Pm thick...constant 02 concentration in this solution. Finally, one of the most important potential advantage of a sensor based on an ultrathin film composite

  16. Ferroelectric and electrical characterization of multiferroic BiFeO3 at the single nanoparticle level

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vasudevan, Rama K [ORNL; Bogle, K A [University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Kumar, Amit [ORNL; Jesse, Stephen [ORNL; Magaraggia, R [University of Glasgow; Stamps, R [University of Glasgow; Ogale, S [National Chemical Laboratory, India; Potdar, H S [National Chemical Laboratory, India

    2011-01-01

    Ferroelectric BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles deposited on epitaxial substrates of SrRuO3 (SRO) and La1xSrxMnO3 (LSMO) were studied using band excitation piezoresponse spectroscopy (BEPS), piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). BEPS confirms that the nanoparticles are ferroelectric in nature. Switching behavior of nanoparticle clusters were studied and showed evidence for inhomogeneous switching. The dimensionality of domains within nanoparticles was found to be fractal in nature, with a dimensionality constant of 1.4, on par with ferroelectric BFO thin-films under 100 nm in thickness. Ferromagnetic resonance studies indicate BFO nanoparticles only weakly affect the magnetic response of LSMO.

  17. Ferroelectric and electrical characterization of multiferroic BiFeO3 at the single nanoparticle level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasudevan, R. K.; Bogle, K. A.; Kumar, A.; Jesse, S.; Magaraggia, R.; Stamps, R.; Ogale, S. B.; Potdar, H. S.; Nagarajan, V.

    2011-12-01

    Ferroelectric BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoparticles deposited on epitaxial substrates of SrRuO3 (SRO) and La1-xSrxMnO3 (LSMO) were studied using band excitation piezoresponse spectroscopy (BEPS), piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). BEPS confirms that the nanoparticles are ferroelectric in nature. Switching behavior of nanoparticle clusters were studied and showed evidence for inhomogeneous switching. The dimensionality of domains within nanoparticles was found to be fractal in nature, with a dimensionality constant of ˜1.4, on par with ferroelectric BFO thin-films under 100 nm in thickness. Ferromagnetic resonance studies indicate BFO nanoparticles only weakly affect the magnetic response of LSMO.

  18. Heterogeneous Ferroelectric Solid Solutions Phases and Domain States

    CERN Document Server

    Topolov, Vitaly

    2012-01-01

    The book deals with perovskite-type ferroelectric solid solutions for modern materials science and applications, solving problems of complicated heterophase/domain structures near the morphotropic phase boundary and applications to various systems with morphotropic phases. In this book domain state–interface diagrams are presented for the interpretation of heterophase states in perovskite-type ferroelectric solid solutions. It allows to describe the stress relief in the presence of polydomain phases, the behavior of unit-cell parameters of coexisting phases and the effect of external electric fields. The novelty of the book consists in (i) the first systematization of data about heterophase states and their evolution in ferroelectric solid solutions (ii) the general interpretation of heterophase and domain structures at changing temperature, composition or electric field (iii) the complete analysis of interconnection domain structures, unit-cell parameters changes, heterophase structures and stress relief.

  19. Thin composite films consisting of polypyrrole and polyparaphenylene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golovtsov, I.; Bereznev, S.; Traksmaa, R.; Opik, A.

    2007-01-01

    This study demonstrates that the combined method for the formation of thin composite films, consisting of polypyrrole (PPy) as a film forming agent and polyparaphenylene (PPP) with controlled electrical properties and high stability, enables one to avoid the low processability of PPP and to extend the possibilities for the development of electronic devices. The high temperature (250-600 deg. C) doping method was used for PPP preparation. The crystallinity and grindability of PPP was found to be increasing with the thermochemical modification. Thin composite films were prepared onto the light transparent substrates using the simple electropolymerization technique. The properties of films were characterized by the optical transmittance and temperature-dependent conductivity measurements. The morphology and thickness of the prepared films were determined using the scanning electron microscopy. The composite films showed a better adhesion to an inorganic substrate. It was found to be connected mostly with the improved properties of the high temperature doped PPP. The current-voltage characteristics of indium tin oxide/film/Au hybrid organic-inorganic structures showed the influence of the doping conditions of PPP inclusions in the obtained films

  20. Supercapacitors based on flexible graphene/polyaniline nanofiber composite films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qiong; Xu, Yuxi; Yao, Zhiyi; Liu, Anran; Shi, Gaoquan

    2010-04-27

    Composite films of chemically converted graphene (CCG) and polyaniline nanofibers (PANI-NFs) were prepared by vacuum filtration the mixed dispersions of both components. The composite film has a layered structure, and PANI-NFs are sandwiched between CCG layers. Furthermore, it is mechanically stable and has a high flexibility; thus, it can be bent into large angles or be shaped into various desired structures. The conductivity of the composite film containing 44% CCG (5.5 x 10(2) S m(-1)) is about 10 times that of a PANI-NF film. Supercapacitor devices based on this conductive flexible composite film showed large electrochemical capacitance (210 F g(-1)) at a discharge rate of 0.3 A g(-1). They also exhibited greatly improved electrochemical stability and rate performances.

  1. Interaction between depolarization effects, interface layer, and fatigue behavior in PZT thin film capacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böttger, U.; Waser, R.

    2017-07-01

    The existence of non-ferroelectric regions in ferroelectric thin films evokes depolarization effects leading to a tilt of the P(E) hysteresis loop. The analysis of measured hysteresis of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films is used to determine a depolarization factor which contains quantitative information about interfacial layers as well as ferroelectrically passive zones in the bulk. The derived interfacial capacitance is smaller than that estimated from conventional extrapolation techniques. In addition, the concept of depolarization is used for the investigation of fatigue behavior of PZT thin films indicating that the mechanism of seed inhibition, which is responsible for the effect, occurs in the entire film.

  2. Longitudinal and transverse pyroelectric effects in a chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yablonskii, S. V., E-mail: yablonskii2005@yandex.ru; Bondarchuk, V. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation); Soto-Bustamante, E. A.; Romero-Hasler, P. N. [Universidad de Chile (Chile); Ozaki, M. [Osaka University, Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (Japan); Yoshino, K. [Shimane Institute for Industrial Technology (Japan)

    2015-04-15

    In this study, we compare the results of experimental investigations of longitudinal and transverse pyroelectric effects in a chiral ferroelectric crystal. In a transverse geometry, we studied freely suspended liquid-crystal films. In both geometries, samples exhibited bistability, demonstrating stable pyroelectric signals of different polarities at zero voltage. It is shown that a bistable cell based on a freely suspended film requires 40 times less energy expenditures as compared to the conventional sandwich-type cell.

  3. Properties of epitaxial ferroelectric PbZr0.56Ti0.44O3 heterostructures with La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 metallic oxide electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, F.; Leppaevuori, S.

    1997-01-01

    PbZr 0.56 Ti 0.44 O 3 (PZT) epitaxial ferroelectric thin films on a LaAlO 3 (100) substrate, covered by a metallic oxide electrode La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 (LSCO) are demonstrated in this work. The films are fabricated by the sol endash gel method and effort was focused on thermal processing to obtain the desired epitaxial heterostructure. The dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT thin films were measured and it was found that they are as good as in the films deposited by other thin-film methods. The dielectric constant and the dissipation factor of the PZT films are, respectively, about 500 and 0.06 below 20 kHz. The remanent polarization P r is about 27 μC/cm 2 and the coercive field E c is about 50 kV/cm. It was found that the ferroelectric properties were significantly influenced by the microstructure of the PZT layers. The present study also showed that the fatigue characteristics of the epitaxial heterostructure with LSCO electrodes under a reversed electrical field are far superior to those obtained with a polycrystalline ferroelectric layer on Pt bottom electrodes. A low leakage current, about 3 μA/cm 2 at 0.5 MV/cm, was obtained for these epitaxial films. In addition, the optical transmittance spectrum of PZT thin films was also measured and the conduction mechanism is discussed.copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  4. Electrochemical synthesis of poly(pyrrole-co-o-anisidine)/chitosan composite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yalçınkaya, Süleyman; Çakmak, Didem

    2017-05-01

    In this study, poly(pyrrole-co-o-anisidine)/chitosan composite films were electrochemically synthesized in various monomers feed ratio (pyrrole: o-anisidine; 9:1, 7:3, 1:1, 3:7 and 1:9) of pyrrole and o-anisidine on the platinum electrode. Electrochemical synthesis of the composite films was carried out via cyclic voltammetry technique. They were characterized by FT-IR, cyclic voltammetry, SEM micrographs, digital images, TGA and DSC techniques. The SEM results indicated that the particle size of the composite decreased with increasing o-anisidine ratio and the films became more likely to be smooth morphology. The TGA results proved that the film of the composite with 1:1 ratio showed highest final degradation temperature and lowest weight loss (83%) compared to copolymer and 9:1 1:9 composite films. The 1:1 composite film had higher thermal stability than copolymer and the other composite films (9:1 1:9). Meanwhile, electrochemical studies exhibited that the 1/9 composite film had good electrochemical stability as well.

  5. Research Update: Enhanced energy storage density and energy efficiency of epitaxial Pb0.9La0.1(Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 relaxor-ferroelectric thin-films deposited on silicon by pulsed laser deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minh D. Nguyen

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Pb0.9La0.1(Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PLZT relaxor-ferroelectric thin films were grown on SrRuO3/SrTiO3/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition. A large recoverable storage density (Ureco of 13.7 J/cm3 together with a high energy efficiency (η of 88.2% under an applied electric field of 1000 kV/cm and at 1 kHz frequency was obtained in 300-nm-thick epitaxial PLZT thin films. These high values are due to the slim and asymmetric hysteresis loop when compared to the values in the reference undoped epitaxial lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 ferroelectric thin films (Ureco = 9.2 J/cm3 and η = 56.4% which have a high remanent polarization and a small shift in the hysteresis loop, under the same electric field.

  6. Transparent non-linear optical composites based on glass and ferroelectric KNbSi.sub.2./sub.O.sub.7./sub..

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sigaev, V. N.; Sukhov, S.S.; Sarkisov, P. D.; Stefanovich, S. Yu.; Pernice, P.; Aronne, A.; Gregora, Ivan

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 318, - (2005), s. 95-104 ISSN 0015-0193 Grant - others:Russian Fondation of Basic Research(RU) 02-03-32105; NATO SfP program(XX) SfP-977980; Italien Ministry of Education , Univerity and Research, FIRB(IT) RBNE0155X7 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : ferroelectric * glass composites * optical non-linearity Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.459, year: 2005

  7. Crystallinity and electrical properties of neodymium-substituted bismuth titanate thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Y.-C.; Hsiung, C.-P.; Chen, C.-Y.; Gan, J.-Y.; Sun, Y.-M.; Lin, C.-P.

    2006-01-01

    We report on the properties of Nd-substituted bismuth titanate Bi 4-x Nd x Ti 3 O 12 (BNdT) thin films for ferroelectric non-volatile memory applications. The Nd-substituted bismuth titanate thin films fabricated by modified chemical solution deposition technique showed much improved properties compared to pure bismuth titanate. A pyrochlore free crystalline phase was obtained at a low annealing temperature of 640 deg. C and grain size was found to be considerably increased as the annealing temperature increased. The film properties were found to be strongly dependent on the Nd content and annealing temperatures. The measured dielectric constant of BNdT thin films was in the range 172-130 for Bi 4-x Nd x Ti 3 O 12 with x 0.0-0.75. Ferroelectric properties of Nd-substituted bismuth titanate thin films were significantly improved compared to pure bismuth titanate. For example, the observed 2P r and E c for Bi 3.25 Nd 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 , annealed at 680 deg. C, were 38 μC/cm 2 and 98 kV/cm, respectively. The improved microstructural and ferroelectric properties of BNdT thin films suggest their suitability for high density ferroelectric random access memory applications

  8. [Spectroscopic study on film formation mechanism and structure of composite silanes-V-Zr passive film].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lei; Liu, Chang-sheng; Shi, Lei; An, Cheng-qiang

    2015-02-01

    A composite silanes-V-Zr passive film was overlayed on hot-dip galvanized steel. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and radio frequency glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (rf-GD-OES) were used to characterize the molecular structure of the silanes-V-Zr passive film. The mechanism of film formation was discussed: The results show that the silane molecules are crosslinked as the main film former and inorganic inhibitor is even distributed in the film. The fitting peak of 100.7 eV in XPS single Si2p energy range spectra of the composite silanes-V-Zr passive film and the widening and strengthening of the Si--O infrared absorption peak at 1100 cm(-1) indicate that the silanes were adsorbed on the surface of zinc with chemical bond of Si--O--Zn, and the silane molecules were connected with each other by bond of Si--O--Si. Two characteristic absorption peaks of amide at 1650 and 1560 cm(-1) appear in the infrared spectroscopy of the composite silanes-V-Zr passive film, and a characteristic absorption peak of epoxy groups at 910 cm(-1) disappears in the infrared spectroscopy of the passive film. The results indicate that gamma-APT can be prepared through nucleophilic ring-opening of ethylene oxide in gamma-GPT molecule to form C--N covalent bonds. The rf-GD-OES results indicate that there is a oxygen enriched layer in 0.3 microm depth of the composite silanes-V-Zr passive film. Moreover, ZrF4, ZrO2 and some inorganic matter obtained by the reaction during the forming processof the composite silanes-V-Zr passive film are distributed evenly throughout the film. According to the film composition, the physical processes and chemical reactions during the film forming process were studied by using ATR-FTIR. Based on this, the film forming mechanism was proposed.

  9. Strongly nonlinear electronic transport in Cr-Si composite films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burkov, A.T.; Vinzelberg, H.; Schumann, J.; Nakama, T.; Yagasaki, K.

    2004-01-01

    The phase formation, the resistivity and the thermopower of amorphous Cr 0.15 Si 0.85 , and nanocrystalline CrSi 2 -Si thin film composites have been studied. The films were produced by a magnetron sputtering of a composite target onto unheated substrates with subsequent crystallization of the film at high temperatures. As the film composite develops under the heat treatment from the initial amorphous state into the final polycrystalline material, two percolation thresholds were found. At first, the percolating cluster of nanocrystalline CrSi 2 is formed. However, this cluster is destroyed with further annealing due to crystallization and redistribution of Si. The composite films which are close to this insulating threshold reveal a strongly nonlinear conductivity. The conductivity increases with the current by two orders of magnitude

  10. Temporary formation of highly conducting domain walls for non-destructive read-out of ferroelectric domain-wall resistance switching memories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jun; Bai, Zi Long; Chen, Zhi Hui; He, Long; Zhang, David Wei; Zhang, Qing Hua; Shi, Jin An; Park, Min Hyuk; Scott, James F.; Hwang, Cheol Seong; Jiang, An Quan

    2018-01-01

    Erasable conductive domain walls in insulating ferroelectric thin films can be used for non-destructive electrical read-out of the polarization states in ferroelectric memories. Still, the domain-wall currents extracted by these devices have not yet reached the intensity and stability required to drive read-out circuits operating at high speeds. This study demonstrated non-destructive read-out of digital data stored using specific domain-wall configurations in epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films formed in mesa-geometry structures. Partially switched domains, which enable the formation of conductive walls during the read operation, spontaneously retract when the read voltage is removed, reducing the accumulation of mobile defects at the domain walls and potentially improving the device stability. Three-terminal memory devices produced 14 nA read currents at an operating voltage of 5 V, and operated up to T = 85 °C. The gap length can also be smaller than the film thickness, allowing the realization of ferroelectric memories with device dimensions far below 100 nm.

  11. Nanofrictional behavior of amorphous, polycrystalline and textured Y-Cr-O films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gervacio-Arciniega, J.J.; Flores-Ruiz, F.J.; Diliegros-Godines, C.J.; Broitman, E.; Enriquez-Flores, C.I.; Espinoza-Beltrán, F.J.; Siqueiros, J.; Cruz, M.P.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Friction coefficient (μ) of ferroelectric textured and polycrystalline YCrO_3 films. • A simple method to evaluate μ from a single AFM image is presented. • The AFM-cantilever spring constant was determined from its dynamic response. • Polycrystalline and amorphous films have a lower μ than textured samples. - Abstract: Differences in friction coefficients (μ) of ferroelectric YCrO_3, textured and polycrystalline films, and non-ferroelectric Y-Cr-O films are analyzed. The friction coefficient was evaluated by atomic force microscopy using a simple quantitative procedure where the dependence of friction force with the applied load is obtained in only one topographical image. A simple code was developed with the MATLAB"® software to analyze the experimental data. The code includes a correction of the hysteresis in the forward and backward scanning directions. The quantification of load exerted on the sample surface was obtained by finite element analysis of the AFM cantilever starting from its experimental dynamic information. The results show that the ferroelectric YCrO_3 film deposited on a Pt(150 nm)/TiO_2(30 nm)/SiO_2/Si (100) substrate is polycrystalline and has a lower friction coefficient than the deposited on SrTiO_3 (110), which is highly textured. From a viewpoint of industrial application in ferroelectric memories, where the writing process is electrical or mechanically achieved by sliding AFM tips on the sample, polycrystalline YCrO_3 films seem to be the best candidates due to their lower μ.

  12. Nanofrictional behavior of amorphous, polycrystalline and textured Y-Cr-O films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gervacio-Arciniega, J.J. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Flores-Ruiz, F.J., E-mail: fcojfloresr@gmail.com [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Diliegros-Godines, C.J. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Broitman, E. [Thin Film Physics Division, IFM, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping (Sweden); Enriquez-Flores, C.I.; Espinoza-Beltrán, F.J. [CINVESTAV Unidad Querétaro, Lib. Norponiente 2000, Real de Juriquilla, 76230 Querétaro, Qro. (Mexico); Siqueiros, J.; Cruz, M.P. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico)

    2016-08-15

    Highlights: • Friction coefficient (μ) of ferroelectric textured and polycrystalline YCrO{sub 3} films. • A simple method to evaluate μ from a single AFM image is presented. • The AFM-cantilever spring constant was determined from its dynamic response. • Polycrystalline and amorphous films have a lower μ than textured samples. - Abstract: Differences in friction coefficients (μ) of ferroelectric YCrO{sub 3}, textured and polycrystalline films, and non-ferroelectric Y-Cr-O films are analyzed. The friction coefficient was evaluated by atomic force microscopy using a simple quantitative procedure where the dependence of friction force with the applied load is obtained in only one topographical image. A simple code was developed with the MATLAB{sup ®} software to analyze the experimental data. The code includes a correction of the hysteresis in the forward and backward scanning directions. The quantification of load exerted on the sample surface was obtained by finite element analysis of the AFM cantilever starting from its experimental dynamic information. The results show that the ferroelectric YCrO{sub 3} film deposited on a Pt(150 nm)/TiO{sub 2}(30 nm)/SiO{sub 2}/Si (100) substrate is polycrystalline and has a lower friction coefficient than the deposited on SrTiO{sub 3} (110), which is highly textured. From a viewpoint of industrial application in ferroelectric memories, where the writing process is electrical or mechanically achieved by sliding AFM tips on the sample, polycrystalline YCrO{sub 3} films seem to be the best candidates due to their lower μ.

  13. 4.0-nm-thick amorphous Nb–Ni film as a conducting diffusion barrier layer for integrating ferroelectric capacitor on Si

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai, X.H.; Guo, J.X.; Zhang, L.; Jia, D.M.; Qi, C.G.; Zhou, Y.; Li, X.H.; Shi, J.B.; Fu, Y.J.; Wang, Y.L.; Lou, J.Z.; Ma, L.X.; Zhao, H.D.; Liu, B.T.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • 4-nm-thick amorphous Nb–Ni film is first used as the conducting barrier layer. • No obvious interdiffusion/reaction can be found from the LSCO/PZT/LSCO/Nb–Ni/Si. • The LSCO/PZT/LSCO capacitor, measured at 5 V, possesses very good properties. • Ultrathin amorphous Nb–Ni film is ideal to fabricate silicon-based FRAM. - Abstract: We have successfully integrated La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 /PbZr 0.4 Ti 0.6 O 3 /La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 (LSCO/PZT/LSCO) capacitors on silicon substrate using a ∼4.0-nm-thick amorphous Nb–Ni film as the conducting diffusion barrier layer. Transmission electron microscopy technique confirms that the Nb–Ni film is still amorphous after fabrication of the capacitors, and the interfaces related to Nb–Ni are clean and sharp without any findable interdiffusion/reaction. The LSCO/PZT/LSCO capacitor, measured at 5 V, possesses very good properties, such as large remanent polarization of ∼22.1 μC/cm 2 , small coercive voltage of ∼1.27 V, good fatigue-resistance, and small pulse width dependence, implying that ultrathin amorphous Nb–Ni film is ideal as the conducting diffusion barrier layer to fabricate high-density silicon-based ferroelectric random access memories

  14. 4.0-nm-thick amorphous Nb–Ni film as a conducting diffusion barrier layer for integrating ferroelectric capacitor on Si

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dai, X.H. [Hebei Key Lab of Optic-electronic Information and Materials, College of Physics Science & Technology, Hebei University, Hebei 071002 (China); College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401 (China); Guo, J.X.; Zhang, L.; Jia, D.M.; Qi, C.G.; Zhou, Y.; Li, X.H.; Shi, J.B.; Fu, Y.J.; Wang, Y.L.; Lou, J.Z. [Hebei Key Lab of Optic-electronic Information and Materials, College of Physics Science & Technology, Hebei University, Hebei 071002 (China); Ma, L.X. [Department of Physics, Blinn College, Bryan, TX 77805 (United States); Zhao, H.D. [College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401 (China); Liu, B.T., E-mail: btliu@hbu.cn [Hebei Key Lab of Optic-electronic Information and Materials, College of Physics Science & Technology, Hebei University, Hebei 071002 (China)

    2015-10-05

    Highlights: • 4-nm-thick amorphous Nb–Ni film is first used as the conducting barrier layer. • No obvious interdiffusion/reaction can be found from the LSCO/PZT/LSCO/Nb–Ni/Si. • The LSCO/PZT/LSCO capacitor, measured at 5 V, possesses very good properties. • Ultrathin amorphous Nb–Ni film is ideal to fabricate silicon-based FRAM. - Abstract: We have successfully integrated La{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}CoO{sub 3}/PbZr{sub 0.4}Ti{sub 0.6}O{sub 3}/La{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}CoO{sub 3} (LSCO/PZT/LSCO) capacitors on silicon substrate using a ∼4.0-nm-thick amorphous Nb–Ni film as the conducting diffusion barrier layer. Transmission electron microscopy technique confirms that the Nb–Ni film is still amorphous after fabrication of the capacitors, and the interfaces related to Nb–Ni are clean and sharp without any findable interdiffusion/reaction. The LSCO/PZT/LSCO capacitor, measured at 5 V, possesses very good properties, such as large remanent polarization of ∼22.1 μC/cm{sup 2}, small coercive voltage of ∼1.27 V, good fatigue-resistance, and small pulse width dependence, implying that ultrathin amorphous Nb–Ni film is ideal as the conducting diffusion barrier layer to fabricate high-density silicon-based ferroelectric random access memories.

  15. Interfacial Nb-substitution induced anomalous enhancement of polarization and conductivity in BaTiO3 ferroelectric tunnel junctions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. F. Li

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Using density functional theory (DFT method combined with non-equilibrium Green’s function approach, we systematically investigated the structural, ferroelectric and electronic transport properties of Pt/BaTiO3/Pt ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJ with the interface atomic layers doped by charge neutral NbTi substitution. It is found that interfacial NbTi substitution will produce several anomalous effects such as the vanishing of ferroelectric critical thickness and the decrease of junction resistance against tunneling current. Consequently, the thickness of the ferroelectric thin film (FTF in the FTJ can be reduced, and both the electroresistance effect and sensitivity to external bias of the FTJ are enhanced. Our calculations indicate that the enhancements of conductivity and ferroelectric distortion can coexist in FTJs, which should be important for applications of functional electronic devices based on FTJs.

  16. Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric studies of (x) Mg{sub 0.25}Cu{sub 0.25}Zn{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} + (1-x) BaTiO{sub 3} magnetoelectric nano-composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khader, S. Abdul, E-mail: khadersku@gmail.com; Sankarappa, T., E-mail: sankarappa@rediffmail.com [Department of Physics, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga-585106, Karnataka (India); Muneeswaran, M.; Giridharan, N. V. [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli-620015 (India)

    2016-05-06

    The Particulate nano-composites of ferrite and ferroelectric phases having the general formula (x) Mg{sub 0.25}Cu{sub 0.25}Zn{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} + (1-x) BaTiO{sub 3} (x=15%, 30% and 45%) were synthesized by sintering mixtures of highly ferroelectric BaTiO{sub 3} (BT) and highly magneto-strictive magnetic component Mg{sub 0.25}Cu{sub 0.25}Zn{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4}(MCZF). The presence of constituent phases of ferrite, ferroelectric and their composites were probed and confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Surface morphology of the samples has been investigated using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The variation of dielectric constant and dissipation factor as a function of frequency from 100 Hz to 1 MHz at room temperature were carried out using a Hioki LCR Hi-Tester. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss were found to decrease rapidly in the low frequency region and became almost constant in the high frequency region. The electrical conductivity deduced from the measured dielectric data has been thoroughly analyzed and found that the conduction mechanism in these composites is in conformity with small polaron hopping model. The ferroelectric properties of synthesized magneto-electric nano-composites were measured using P-E loop tracer.

  17. Effect of electrical conductivity on the polarization behaviour and pyroelectric, piezoelectric property prediction of 0-3 ferroelectric composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Nian; Zhang Duanming; Yang Fengxia; Han Xiangyun; Zhong Zhicheng; Zheng Keyu

    2007-01-01

    We have investigated the effect of electrical conductivity of the constituents on the poling behaviour of the ceramic inclusions in 0-3 ferroelectric composites which comprise a dilute suspension of spherical particles uniformly distributed in the matrix material. A new model for the pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties in terms of the poling conditions (poling field and poling time) has been developed to include electrical conductivity. Simulated results show that conductivity plays an important role in the poling process. Properly increasing the conductivity of the matrix σ m can enhance the polarization in the ceramic inclusion of the composite P i , thereby making the poling of the composite more efficient. In contrast, higher conductivity of the ceramic inclusion σ i results in lower polarization P i , which is unfavourable to the poling of the composite. These results provide insights into the observed behaviour of 0-3 composites. The model predicts the pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties under different poling conditions, which agree well with the corresponding experimental data

  18. Polarization-dependent interfacial coupling modulation of ferroelectric photovoltaic effect in PZT-ZnO heterostructures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Dan-Feng; Bi, Gui-Feng; Chen, Guang-Yi; Zhang, Hao; Liu, Jun-Ming; Wang, Guang-Hou; Wan, Jian-Guo

    2016-03-08

    Recently, ferroelectric perovskite oxides have drawn much attention due to potential applications in the field of solar energy conversion. However, the power conversion efficiency of ferroelectric photovoltaic effect currently reported is far below the expectable value. One of the crucial problems lies in the two back-to-back Schottky barriers, which are formed at the ferroelectric-electrode interfaces and blocking most of photo-generated carriers to reach the outside circuit. Herein, we develop a new approach to enhance the ferroelectric photovoltaic effect by introducing the polarization-dependent interfacial coupling effect. Through inserting a semiconductor ZnO layer with spontaneous polarization into the ferroelectric ITO/PZT/Au film, a p-n junction with strong polarization-dependent interfacial coupling effect is formed. The power conversion efficiency of the heterostructure is improved by nearly two orders of magnitude and the polarization modulation ratio is increased about four times. It is demonstrated that the polarization-dependent interfacial coupling effect can give rise to a great change in band structure of the heterostructure, not only producing an aligned internal electric field but also tuning both depletion layer width and potential barrier height at PZT-ZnO interface. This work provides an efficient way in developing highly efficient ferroelectric-based solar cells and novel optoelectronic memory devices.

  19. Programmable ferroelectric tunnel memristor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andy eQuindeau

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available We report an analogously programmable memristor based on genuine electronic resistive switching combining ferroelectric switching and electron tunneling. The tunnel current through an 8 unit cell thick epitaxial Pb(Zr[0.2]Ti[0.8]O[3] film sandwiched between La[0.7]Sr[0.3]MnO[3] and cobalt electrodes obeys the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi model for bidimensional growth with a characteristic switching time in the order of 10^-7 seconds. The analytical description of switching kinetics allows us to develop a characteristic transfer function that has only one parameter viz. the characteristic switching time and fully predicts the resistive states of this type of memristor.

  20. Preparation and Properties of Silver Nanowire-Based Transparent Conductive Composite Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Ji-Li; Zhang, Hua-Yu; Wang, Hai-Jun

    2016-06-01

    Silver nanowire-based transparent conductive composite films with different structures were successfully prepared using various methods, including liquid polyol, magnetron sputtering and spin coating. The experimental results revealed that the optical transmittance of all different structural composite films decreased slightly (1-3%) compared to pure films. However, the electrical conductivity of all composite films had a great improvement. Under the condition that the optical transmittance was greater than 78% over the wavelength range of 400-800 nm, the AgNW/PVA/AgNW film became a conductor, while the AZO/AgNW/AZO film and the ITO/AgNW/ITO film showed 88.9% and 94% reductions, respectively, for the sheet resistance compared with pure films. In addition, applying a suitable mechanical pressure can improve the conductivity of AgNW-based composite films.

  1. Pyroelectricity of silicon-doped hafnium oxide thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jachalke, Sven; Schenk, Tony; Park, Min Hyuk; Schroeder, Uwe; Mikolajick, Thomas; Stöcker, Hartmut; Mehner, Erik; Meyer, Dirk C.

    2018-04-01

    Ferroelectricity in hafnium oxide thin films is known to be induced by various doping elements and in solid-solution with zirconia. While a wealth of studies is focused on their basic ferroelectric properties and memory applications, thorough studies of the related pyroelectric properties and their application potential are only rarely found. This work investigates the impact of Si doping on the phase composition and ferro- as well as pyroelectric properties of thin film capacitors. Dynamic hysteresis measurements and the field-free Sharp-Garn method were used to correlate the reported orthorhombic phase fractions with the remanent polarization and pyroelectric coefficient. Maximum values of 8.21 µC cm-2 and -46.2 µC K-1 m-2 for remanent polarization and pyroelectric coefficient were found for a Si content of 2.0 at%, respectively. Moreover, temperature-dependent measurements reveal nearly constant values for the pyroelectric coefficient and remanent polarization over the temperature range of 0 ° C to 170 ° C , which make the material a promising candidate for IR sensor and energy conversion applications beyond the commonly discussed use in memory applications.

  2. Effect of substrate temperature in the structural, optical and ferroelectric properties of thin films of BaTiO{sub 3} deposited by RF sputtering; Efecto de la temperatura de substrato en las propiedades estructurales, opticas y ferroelectricas de peliculas delgadas de BaTiO{sub 3} depositadas por RF sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marquez H, A. [Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi, Coordinacion Academica Region Altiplano, Carretera a Cedral Km. 5 -600, Matehuala, 78800 San Luis Potosi (Mexico); Hernandez R, E.; Zapata T, M. [IPN, Centro de Investigacion en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnologia Avanzada, Unidad Legaria, Calz. Legaria 694, Col. Irrigacion, 11500 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Calzadilla A, O. [Universidad de la Habana, Facultad de Fisica-IMRE, San Lazaro y L. Municipio Plaza de la Revolucion, La Habana (Cuba); Melendez L, M. [IPN, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Departamento de Fisica, Apdo. Postal 14-740, 07000 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

    2012-07-01

    Thin films of Barium Titanate (BaTiO{sub 3}) were grown on nichrome and quartz substrates, using a BaTiO{sub 3} target, by RF sputtering technique. We varied the substrate temperature in order to study its effect on the structural, optical and ferroelectric properties of the samples. The results of the X-ray diffraction showed tetragonal structure with increases of the crystallinity as increases the substrate temperature. Furthermore, it observed by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy that the band gap decreased as the substrate temperature increases showing abrupt sharp decrease at 494.8{sup o} C. The ferroelectric properties of the films showed a dependence with substrate temperature, the best ferroelectric answer was obtained at 494.8{sup o} C. (Author)

  3. Electric double layer transistors with ferroelectric BaTiO3 channels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ito, M.; Matsubara, Y.; Kozuka, Y.; Takahashi, K. S.; Kagawa, F.; Ye, J. T.; Iwasa, Y.; Ueno, K.; Tokura, Y.; Kawasaki, M.

    2014-01-01

    We report the surface conduction of a BaTiO3 thin film using electric double layer transistor (EDLT) structure. A transistor operation was observed at 220 K with an on/off ratio exceeding 10(5), demonstrating that ionic liquid gating is effective to induce carriers at the surface of ferroelectric

  4. Application of composition modulated thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilliard, J.E.

    1979-01-01

    Film produced by evaporating two components through a rotating pinwheel shutter which cuts off the vapor first from one source and then the other are evaluated. These films have a modulated composition rather than a layered structure. Mechanical properties were determined using a bulge tester

  5. Ferroelectric switching of elastin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yuanming; Cai, Hong-Ling; Zelisko, Matthew; Wang, Yunjie; Sun, Jinglan; Yan, Fei; Ma, Feiyue; Wang, Peiqi; Chen, Qian Nataly; Zheng, Hairong; Meng, Xiangjian; Sharma, Pradeep; Zhang, Yanhang; Li, Jiangyu

    2014-01-01

    Ferroelectricity has long been speculated to have important biological functions, although its very existence in biology has never been firmly established. Here, we present compelling evidence that elastin, the key ECM protein found in connective tissues, is ferroelectric, and we elucidate the molecular mechanism of its switching. Nanoscale piezoresponse force microscopy and macroscopic pyroelectric measurements both show that elastin retains ferroelectricity at 473 K, with polarization on the order of 1 μC/cm2, whereas coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations predict similar polarization with a Curie temperature of 580 K, which is higher than most synthetic molecular ferroelectrics. The polarization of elastin is found to be intrinsic in tropoelastin at the monomer level, analogous to the unit cell level polarization in classical perovskite ferroelectrics, and it switches via thermally activated cooperative rotation of dipoles. Our study sheds light onto a long-standing question on ferroelectric switching in biology and establishes ferroelectricity as an important biophysical property of proteins. This is a critical first step toward resolving its physiological significance and pathological implications. PMID:24958890

  6. Investigation of the epitaxial growth of Pb(Zr{sub 0,52}Ti{sub 0,48})O{sub 3} thin films and their application in ferroelectric superconducting field effect transistors; Untersuchung des epitaktischen Wachstums duenner Pb(Zr{sub 0,52}Ti{sub 0,48})O{sub 3}-Schichten und ihre Anwendung in ferroelektrischen supraleitenden Feldeffektransistoren

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aidam, R

    1999-02-01

    The influences of the polarization of ferroelectric Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} (PZT) films on the properties of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (YBCO) films were investigated in ferroelectric superconducting field effect transistors (FSuFETs). First the epitaxial growth of PZT films deposited by reactive sputtering in an argon/oxygen atmosphere was investigated. SrTiO{sub 3} single crystals and YBCO thin films proved as suitable substrates. The lead content of the PZT films depended sensitively on the deposition temperature T{sub s} and the gas pressure. By using a high pressure of 0.26 mbar the correct stoichiometry could be achieved up to an maximum T{sub s} of 580 C. Above a minimum T{sub s} of 540 C the ferroelectric perovskite structure grew. In the optimum temperature range between 560 C and 580 C the films grew with a minimum mosaic spread of {delta}{omega} < 0.3 and a small amount of less than 1% of paraelectric phase. The best ferroelectric properties could be obtained for films with the highest degree of epitaxy and the correct stoichiometry. The maximum remanent polarization amounted P{sub r} = 61 {mu}C/cm{sup 2} and the coercive field E{sub C} was 150 kV/cm at 77 K. The breakdown field was four to five times larger than E{sub C}. Fatigue studies revealed a loss of switchable polarization of 30% after 10{sup 8} cycles at 77 K, whereas loss of retention and the effect of ageing were negligible. During the process of oxidation of the heterostructure at 400 C and an oxygen pressure of 800 mbar a reaction at the PZT/YBCO interface was observed, which lead to a degradation of the transport properties of the superconductor. This reaction could be avoided by a thin SrTiO{sub 3} buffer layer without disturbing the ferroelectric hysteresis essentially.

  7. Fabrication of Pb (Zr, Ti) O3 Thin Film for Non-Volatile Memory Device Application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mar Lar Win

    2011-12-01

    Ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate powder was composed of mainly the oxides of titanium, zirconium and lead. PZT powder was firstly prepared by thermal synthesis at different Zr/Ti ratios with various sintering temperatures. PZT thin film was fabricated on SiO2/Si substrate by using thermal evaporation method. Physical and elemental analysis were carried out by using SEM, EDX and XRD The ferroelectric properties and the switching behaviour of the PZT thin films were investigated. The ferroelectric properties and switching properties of the PZT thin film (near morphotropic phase boundary sintered at 800 C) could function as a nonvolatile memory.

  8. Al-, Y-, and La-doping effects favoring intrinsic and field induced ferroelectricity in HfO2: A first principles study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Materlik, Robin; Künneth, Christopher; Falkowski, Max; Mikolajick, Thomas; Kersch, Alfred

    2018-04-01

    III-valent dopants have shown to be most effective in stabilizing the ferroelectric, crystalline phase in atomic layer deposited, polycrystalline HfO2 thin films. On the other hand, such dopants are commonly used for tetragonal and cubic phase stabilization in ceramic HfO2. This difference in the impact has not been elucidated so far. The prospect is a suitable doping to produce ferroelectric HfO2 ceramics with a technological impact. In this paper, we investigate the impact of Al, Y, and La doping, which have experimentally proven to stabilize the ferroelectric Pca21 phase in HfO2, in a comprehensive first-principles study. Density functional theory calculations reveal the structure, formation energy, and total energy of various defects in HfO2. Most relevant are substitutional electronically compensated defects without oxygen vacancy, substitutional mixed compensated defects paired with a vacancy, and ionically compensated defect complexes containing two substitutional dopants paired with a vacancy. The ferroelectric phase is strongly favored with La and Y in the substitutional defect. The mixed compensated defect favors the ferroelectric phase as well, but the strongly favored cubic phase limits the concentration range for ferroelectricity. We conclude that a reduction of oxygen vacancies should significantly enhance this range in Y doped HfO2 thin films. With Al, the substitutional defect hardly favors the ferroelectric phase before the tetragonal phase becomes strongly favored with the increasing concentration. This could explain the observed field induced ferroelectricity in Al-doped HfO2. Further Al defects are investigated, but do not favor the f-phase such that the current explanation remains incomplete for Al doping. According to the simulation, doping alone shows clear trends, but is insufficient to replace the monoclinic phase as the ground state. To explain this fact, some other mechanism is needed.

  9. Molecular ferroelectrics: where electronics meet biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiangyu; Liu, Yuanming; Zhang, Yanhang; Cai, Hong-Ling; Xiong, Ren-Gen

    2013-12-28

    In the last several years, we have witnessed significant advances in molecular ferroelectrics, with the ferroelectric properties of molecular crystals approaching those of barium titanate. In addition, ferroelectricity has been observed in biological systems, filling an important missing link in bioelectric phenomena. In this perspective, we will present short historical notes on ferroelectrics, followed by an overview of the fundamentals of ferroelectricity. The latest developments in molecular ferroelectrics and biological ferroelectricity will then be highlighted, and their implications and potential applications will be discussed. We close by noting molecular ferroelectric as an exciting frontier between electronics and biology, and a number of challenges ahead are also described.

  10. Characterization of PZT thin films on metal substrates; Charakterisierung von PZT-Duennschichten auf Metallsubstraten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dutschke, A.

    2008-02-02

    Lead zirconate titanate (PbZr{sub x}Ti{sub 1-x}O{sub 3},PZT) is one of the most applied ceramic materials because of its distinctive piezo- and ferroelectric properties. Prepared as thin films on flexible, metallic substrates it can be used for various applications as strain gauges, key switches, vibration dampers, microactuators and ultrasonic transducers. The aim of this work is to analyze the microstructure and the phase-content of PZT-thin films deposited on temperature- und acid-resistant hastelloy-sheets, to correlate the results with the ferroelectric and dielectric properties. It is demonstrated, that the specific variation of the microstructure can be achieved by different thermal treatments and the selective addition of Neodymium as dopant. Nd-doping leads to a shift of the maximum nucleation rate towards reduced temperatures and a decrease in the rate of growth compared to undoped films. The PZT-films are prepared by a sol-gel-process in fourfold multilayers with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary, where the tetragonal und rhombohedral perovskite-phases coexist. The crystallisation in Nd-doped and undoped films takes place heterogeneously, preferentially at the interfaces and on the surface of the multilayered films as well as on the inner surface of pores within the films. For the first time, the Zr:Ti fluctuation phenomena emerging in sol-gel derived PZT films is related to the microstructure and the local phase content on a nanometer scale. In this connection it is proved, that long-distance Zr:Ti gradients arise preferentially before and during the crystallisation of the pyrochlore phase. During the following crystallisation of the perovskite phase, the crystallites grow across these gradients without modifying them. It is pointed out that the fluctuation in the Zr:Ti ratio has only minor influence on the amount of the tetragonal or rhombohedral distortion of the crystallites after the transition from the para- to the ferroelectric

  11. A Non-Volatile SRAM For Spaceborne Applications Using a Novel Ferroelectric Non-Linear Dielectric, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A ferroelectric non-linear dielectric was recently discovered that, in their film form, possess a number of properties that make it an excellent choice for...

  12. Room-Temperature Multiferroics and Thermal Conductivity of 0.85BiFe1-2xTixMgxO3-0.15CaTiO3 Epitaxial Thin Films (x = 0.1 and 0.2).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ji; Sun, Wei; Zhao, Jiangtao; Sun, Lei; Li, Lei; Yan, Xue-Jun; Wang, Ke; Gu, Zheng-Bin; Luo, Zhen-Lin; Chen, Yanbin; Yuan, Guo-Liang; Lu, Ming-Hui; Zhang, Shan-Tao

    2017-08-02

    Thin films of 0.85BiFe 1-2x Ti x Mg x O 3 -0.15CaTiO 3 (x = 0.1 and 0.2, abbreviated to C-1 and C-2, respectively) have been fabricated on (001) SrTiO 3 substrate with and without a conductive La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 buffer layer. The X-ray θ-2θ and ϕ scans, atomic force microscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy confirm the (001) epitaxial nature of the thin films with very high growth quality. Both the C-1 and C-2 thin films show well-shaped magnetization-magnetic field hysteresis at room temperature, with enhanced switchable magnetization values of 145.3 and 42.5 emu/cm 3 , respectively. The polarization-electric loops and piezoresponse force microscopy measurements confirm the room-temperature ferroelectric nature of both films. However, the C-1 films illustrate a relatively weak ferroelectric behavior and the poled states are easy to relax, whereas the C-2 films show a relatively better ferroelectric behavior with stable poled states. More interestingly, the room-temperature thermal conductivity of C-1 and C-2 films are measured to be 1.10 and 0.77 W/(m·K), respectively. These self-consistent multiferroic properties and thermal conductivities are discussed by considering the composition-dependent content and migration of Fe-induced electrons and/or charged point defects. This study not only provides multifunctional materials with excellent room-temperature magnetic, ferroelectric, and thermal conductivity properties but may also stimulate further work to develop BiFeO 3 -based materials with unusual multifunctional properties.

  13. Investigation of ferroelectric materials by the thermal noise method: advantages and limitations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bednyakov, Petr; Shnaidshtein, I. V.; Strukov, B. A.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 500, č. 1 (2016), 203-217 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-15110S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : thermal noise * ferroelectricity * thin films * dielectric permittivity * equivalent circuit Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.551, year: 2016

  14. Flexible, ferroelectric nanoparticle doped polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices for lower switching voltage and nanoenergy generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimmy John, V.; Varanakkottu, Subramanyan Namboodiri; Varghese, Soney

    2018-06-01

    Flexible polymer dispersed liquid crystal (F-PDLC) devices were fabricated using transparent conducting ITO/PET film. Polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) method was used for pure and ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) and ZnO doped PDLC devices. The distribution of nanoparticles in the PDLC and the formation of micro cavities were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). It was observed that the addition of ferroelectric BTO nanoparticles has reduced the threshold voltage (Vth) and saturation voltage (Vsat) of FNP-PDLC by 85% and 41% respectively due to the spontaneous polarization of ferroelectric nanoparticles. The ferroelectric properties of BTO and ZnO in the fabricated devices were investigated using dynamic contact electrostatic force microscopy (DC EFM). Flexing the device can generate a potential due to the piezo-tribo electric effect of the ferroelectric nanomaterial doped in the PDLC matrix, which could be utilized as an energy generating system. The switching voltage after multiple flexing was also studied and found to be in par with non-flexing situations.

  15. Superhydrophobicity and regeneration of PVDF/SiO2 composite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Tao; Li, Xianfeng; Wang, Daohui; Huang, Qinglin; Liu, Zhen; Li, Nana; Xiao, Changfa

    2017-02-01

    Superhydrophobicity of polymers is easily destroyed by careless touching due to the softness of microstructures. In this study, based on a well-constructed polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) surface, a novel superhydrophobic PVDF/SiO2 composite film was fabricated by adding hydrophobic SiO2 nanoparticle and solvent into a coagulation bath. The water contact angle of the composite film reached 162.3° and the sliding angle was as low as 1.5°. More importantly, the composite film could be regenerated only through immersing the composite film in the designed regeneration agent. The composition of the designed regeneration agent ensured that SiO2 nanoparticles were firmly adhered on the film surface even under the ultrasonic cleaning. Hence, the superhydrophobicity and self-cleaing property could be regenerated and maintained effectively, and moreover, these propeties could resist a proper pressure. In addition, after many rubbing-regenerating cycles, the regeneration method was still valid.

  16. Ferroelectric properties of sandwich structured (Bi, La)4T3O12/Pb(Zr, Ti)O3/ (Bi, La)4Ti3O12 thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bao Dinghua; Wakiya, Naoki; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Mizutani, Nobuyasu

    2002-01-01

    Sandwich structured (Bi, La) 4 Ti 3 O 12 /Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 /(Bi, La) 4 Ti 3 O 12 thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si substrates, with the intention of simultaneously utilizing the advantages of both (Bi, La) 4 Ti 3 O 12 (BLT) and Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 (PZT) thin films such as non-fatigue behaviours of BLT and good ferroelectric properties of PZT. Both BLT and PZT layers were prepared by a chemical solution deposition technique. The experiments demonstrated that the sandwich structure showed fatigue-free characteristics at least up to 10 10 switching bipolar pulse cycles under 8 V and excellent retention properties. The sandwich structured thin films also exhibited well-defined hysteresis loops with a remanent polarization (2P r ) of 8.8 μC cm -2 and a coercive field (E c ) of 47 kV cm -1 . The room-temperature dielectric constant and dissipation factor were 210 and 0.031, respectively, at a frequency of 100 kHz. These results suggest that this sandwich structure is a promising material combination for ferroelectric memory applications. (author)

  17. Electrode contacts on ferroelectric Pb(Zr x Ti1−x )O3 and SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films and their influence on fatigue properties

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, J. J.; Thio, C. L.; Desu, Seshu B.

    1995-01-01

    The degradation (fatigue) of dielectric properties of ferroelectric Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3 (PZT) and SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films during cycling was investigated. PZT and SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films were fabricated by metalorganic decomposition and pulsed laser deposition, respectively. Samples with electrodes of platinum (Pt) and ruthenium oxide (RuO2) were studied. The interfacial capacitance (if any) at the Pt/PZT, RuO2/PZT, and Pt/SrBi2Ta2O9 interfaces was determined from the thickness dependence of low-fiel...

  18. Enhanced piezoelectric properties of (110)-oriented PbZr1−xTixO3 epitaxial thin films on silicon substrates at shifted morphotropic phase boundary

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wan, X.; Houwman, Evert Pieter; Steenwelle, Ruud Johannes Antonius; van Schaijk, R.; Nguyen, Duc Minh; Dekkers, Jan M.; Rijnders, Augustinus J.H.M.

    2014-01-01

    Piezoelectrical, ferroelectrical, and structural properties of epitaxial pseudocubic (110)pc oriented 500 nm thick PbZr1−xTixO3 thin films, prepared by pulsed laser deposition on (001) silicon substrates, were measured as a function of composition. The dependence of the measurement data on the Ti

  19. Highly polarized single-c-domain single-crystal Pb(Mn,Nb)O(3)-PZT thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasa, Kiyotaka; Adachi, Hideaki; Nishida, Ken; Yamamoto, Takashi; Matsushima, Tomoaki; Kanno, Isaku; Kotera, Hidetoshi

    2012-01-01

    In-plane unstrained single-c-domain/single-crystal thin films of PZT-based ternary ferroelectric perovskite, ξPb(Mn,Nb)O3-(1 - ξ)PZT, were grown on SrRuO(3)/Pt/MgO substrates using magnetron sputtering followed by quenching. The sputtered unstrained thin films exhibit unique ferroelectric properties: high coercive field, Ec > 180 kV/cm, large remanent polarization, P(r) = 100 μC/cm(2), small relative dielectric constants, ε* = 100 to 150, high Curie temperature, Tc = ~600 °C, and bulk-like large transverse piezoelectric constants, e31,f = -12.0 C/m(2) for PZT(48/52) at ξ = 0.06. The unstrained thin films are an ideal structure to extract the bulk ferroelectric properties. Their micro-structures and ferroelectric properties are discussed in relation to the potential applications for piezoelectric MEMS. © 2012 IEEE

  20. Lanthanum titanium perovskite compound: Thin film deposition and high frequency dielectric characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Paven, C.; Lu, Y.; Nguyen, H.V.; Benzerga, R.; Le Gendre, L.; Rioual, S.; Benzegoutta, D.; Tessier, F.; Cheviré, F.

    2014-01-01

    Perovskite lanthanum titanium oxide thin films were deposited on (001) MgO, (001) LaAlO 3 and Pt(111)/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /(001)Si substrates by RF magnetron sputtering, using a La 2 Ti 2 O 7 homemade target sputtered under oxygen reactive plasma. The films deposited at 800 °C display a crystalline growth different than those reported on monoclinic ferroelectric La 2 Ti 2 O 7 films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows the presence of titanium as Ti 4+ ions, with no trace of Ti 3+ , and provides a La/Ti ratio of 1.02. The depositions being performed from a La 2 Ti 2 O 7 target under oxygen rich plasma, the same composition (La 2 Ti 2 O 7 ) is proposed for the deposited films, with an unusual orthorhombic cell and Cmc2 1 space group. The films have a textured growth on MgO and Pt/Si substrates, and are epitaxially grown on LaAlO 3 substrate. The dielectric characterization displays stable values of the dielectric constant and of the losses in the frequency range [0.1–20] GHz. No variation of the dielectric constant has been observed when a DC electric field up to 250 kV/cm was applied, which does not match a classical ferroelectric behavior at high frequencies and room temperature for the proposed La 2 Ti 2 O 7 orthorhombic phase. At 10 GHz and room temperature, the dielectric constant of the obtained La 2 Ti 2 O 7 films is ε ∼ 60 and the losses are low (tanδ < 0.02). - Highlights: • Lanthanum titanium oxide films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. • A La 2 Ti 2 O 7 chemical composition is proposed, with an unusual orthorhombic cell. • At 10 GHz, the dielectric losses are lower than 0.02. • No variation of the dielectric constant is observed under DC electric biasing

  1. The thickness effect of Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 buffer layer in PbZr0.58Ti0.42O3/Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 (PZT/BLT) multilayered ferroelectric thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Jianjun; Li Ping; Zhang Guojun; Yu Jun; Wu Yunyi; Wen Xinyi

    2011-01-01

    A series of PbZr 0.58 Ti 0.42 O 3 (PZT) thin films with various Bi 3.25 La 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 (BLT) buffer layer thicknesses were deposited on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /p-Si(100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. The X-ray diffraction measurements of PZT film and PZT/BLT multilayered films illustrate that the pure PZT film shows (111) preferential orientation, and the PZT/BLT films show (110) preferential orientation with increasing thickness of the BLT layer. There are no obvious diffraction peaks for the BLT buffer layer in the multilayered films, for interaction effect between the bottom BLT and top PZT films during annealing at the same time. From the surface images of field-emission scanning electron microscope, there are the maximum number of largest-size grains in PZT/BLT(30 nm) film among all the samples. The growth direction and grain size have significant effects on ferroelectric properties of the multilayered films. The fatigue characteristics of PZT and PZT/BLT films suggest that 30-nm-thick BLT is just an effective buffer layer enough to alleviate the accumulation of oxygen vacancies near the PZT/BLT interface. The comparison of these results with that of PZT/Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /p-Si(100) basic structured film suggests that the buffer layer with an appropriate thickness can improve the ferroelectric properties of multilayered films greatly.

  2. Synthesis and characterization of silver-polypyrrole film composite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ayad, Mohamad M., E-mail: mayad12000@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Tanta, Tanta (Egypt); Zaki, Eman [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Tanta, Tanta (Egypt)

    2009-11-15

    In this work, we report the chemical polymerization of pyrrole to obtain thin film of polypyrrole (PPy) hydrochloride deposited onto the electrode of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The film in the base form was exposed to a solution of AgNO{sub 3}. Electroless reduction for silver ions by the PPy film took place and silver particles were adsorbed onto the film surface. The silver particles content at the PPy films were analyzed by QCM and the results showed that the concentrations of silver uptakes increase as the original AgNO{sub 3} solution increases. The morphology of the surface of the PPy film and the silver-PPy film composite were studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). They showed that the obtained silver particles have spherical, cubic and tetrahedral structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the structure of the powder composite. This work reveals the capability of PPy film coating on QCM in sensing and removing silver from several environmental samples.

  3. Synthesis and characterization of silver-polypyrrole film composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayad, Mohamad M.; Zaki, Eman

    2009-01-01

    In this work, we report the chemical polymerization of pyrrole to obtain thin film of polypyrrole (PPy) hydrochloride deposited onto the electrode of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The film in the base form was exposed to a solution of AgNO 3 . Electroless reduction for silver ions by the PPy film took place and silver particles were adsorbed onto the film surface. The silver particles content at the PPy films were analyzed by QCM and the results showed that the concentrations of silver uptakes increase as the original AgNO 3 solution increases. The morphology of the surface of the PPy film and the silver-PPy film composite were studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). They showed that the obtained silver particles have spherical, cubic and tetrahedral structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the structure of the powder composite. This work reveals the capability of PPy film coating on QCM in sensing and removing silver from several environmental samples.

  4. Synthesis and characterization of silver-polypyrrole film composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayad, Mohamad. M.; Zaki, Eman

    2009-11-01

    In this work, we report the chemical polymerization of pyrrole to obtain thin film of polypyrrole (PPy) hydrochloride deposited onto the electrode of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The film in the base form was exposed to a solution of AgNO 3. Electroless reduction for silver ions by the PPy film took place and silver particles were adsorbed onto the film surface. The silver particles content at the PPy films were analyzed by QCM and the results showed that the concentrations of silver uptakes increase as the original AgNO 3 solution increases. The morphology of the surface of the PPy film and the silver-PPy film composite were studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). They showed that the obtained silver particles have spherical, cubic and tetrahedral structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the structure of the powder composite. This work reveals the capability of PPy film coating on QCM in sensing and removing silver from several environmental samples.

  5. Turning Wood Autohydrolysate Directly into Food Packing Composite Films with Good Toughness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YaJie Hu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Bio-based composite films were produced by incorporating wood autohydrolysate (WH, chitosan (CS, and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC. In this work, WH was directly utilized without further purification, and CNC was introduced as the reinforced material to prepare WH-CS-CNC composite films with excellent properties. The effects of CNC on the properties of WH-CS-CNC composite films were investigated by characterizing their structures, mechanical properties, oxygen barrier, and thermal stability properties. The results suggested that CNC could improve tensile strength of the composite films, and the tensile strain at break could be up to 4.7%. Besides, the oxygen permeability of the prepared composite films could be as low as 3.57 cm3/day·m2·kPa, making them suitable for the food packaging materials. These above results showed that the addition of CNC is an effective method to enhance the toughness of composite films. In addition, WH-CS-CNC composite films have great potential in the field of sustainable food packing materials.

  6. Organic electronic memory based on a ferroelectric polymer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalbitz, R; Fruebing, P; Gerhard, R [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str., 24-25, 14476 Potsdam (Germany); Taylor, D M, E-mail: d.m.taylor@bangor.ac.uk [School of Electronic Engineering, Bangor University, Dean Street, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 1UT (United Kingdom)

    2011-06-23

    Measurements of the capacitance of metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors and the output characteristics of thin film transistors based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) as the active semiconductor and poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) as the gate insulator show that ferroelectric polarisation in the insulator is stable but that its effect when poled by depletion voltages is partially neutralised by trapping of electrons at or near the semiconductor interface. Nevertheless, the combination of materials is capable of providing an adequate memory function.

  7. Polyester fabric coated with Ag/ZnO composite film by magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yuan, Xiaohong, E-mail: yxhong1981_2004@126.com [Key Laboratory of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu (China); Faculty of Clothing and Design, Minjiang University, Fuzhou 350121, Fujian (China); Xu, Wenzheng, E-mail: xwz8199@126.com [Key Laboratory of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu (China); Huang, Fenglin, E-mail: windhuang325@163.com [Key Laboratory of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu (China); Chen, Dongsheng, E-mail: mjuchen@126.com [Faculty of Clothing and Design, Minjiang University, Fuzhou 350121, Fujian (China); Wei, Qufu, E-mail: qfwei@jiangnan.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu (China)

    2016-12-30

    Highlights: • Ag/ZnO composite film was successfully deposited on polyester fabric by magnetron sputtering technique. • Ag film was easily oxidized into Ag{sub 2}O film in high vacuum oxygen environment. • The zinc film coated on the surface of Ag film before RF reactive sputtering could protect the silver film from oxidation. • Polyester fabric coated with Ag/ZnO composite film can obtained structural color. • The anti-ultraviolet and antistatic properties of polyester fabric coated with Ag/ZnO composite film all were good. - Abstract: Ag/ZnO composite film was successfully deposited on polyester fabric by using direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering and radio frequency (RF) magnetron reaction sputtering techniques with pure silver (Ag) and zinc (Zn) targets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to examine the deposited film on the fabric. It was found that the zinc film coated on Ag film before RF reactive sputtering could protect the silver film from oxidation. Anti-ultraviolet property and antistatic property of the coated samples using different magnetron sputtering methods were also investigated. The experimental results showed that Ag film was oxidized into in Ag{sub 2}O film in high vacuum oxygen environment. The deposition of Zn film on the surface of the fabric coated with Ag film before RF reactive sputtering, could successfully obtained Ag/ZnO composite film, and also generated structural color on the polyester fabric.

  8. Structure-property relations in sputter deposited epitaxial (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3- xPbTiO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick, Joshua C.

    Lead-based ferroelectric materials are of significant technological importance for sensing and actuation due to their high piezoelectric performance (i.e., the ability to convert an electrical signal to mechanical displacement, and vice versa). Traditionally, bulk ceramic or single crystals materials have filled these roles; however, emerging technologies stand to benefit by incorporating thin films to achieve miniaturization while maintaining high efficiency and sensitivity. Currently, chemical systems that have been well characterized in bulk form (e.g. Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3- xPbTiO3, or PMN-xPT) require further study to optimize both the chemistry and structure for deployment in thin film devices. Furthermore, the effect of internal electric fields is more significant at the length scales of thin films, resulting in self biases that require compensation to reveal their intrinsic dielectric response. To this end, the structure-property relations of epitaxial PMN-xPT films sputter deposited on a variety of substrates were investigated. Attention was paid to how the structure (i.e., strain state, crystal structure, domain configuration, and defects) gave rise to the ferroelectric, dielectric, and piezoelectric response. Three-dimensional visualization of the dielectric response as a simultaneous function of electric field and temperature revealed the true phase transition of the films, which was found to correspond to the strain state and defect concentration. A lead-buffered anneal process was implemented to enhance the ferroelectric and dielectric response of the films without altering their stoichiometry. It was discovered that PMN- xPT films could be domain-engineered to exhibit a mixed domain state through chemistry and substrate choice. Such films exhibited a monoclinic distortion similar to that of the bulk compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary. Finally, it was revealed that the piezoelectric response could be greatly enhanced by declamping the film

  9. Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of strain-relieved epitaxial lead-free KNN-LT-LS ferroelectric thin films on SrTiO3 substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abazari, M.; Akdoǧan, E. K.; Safari, A.

    2008-05-01

    We report the growth of single-phase (K0.44,Na0.52,Li0.04)(Nb0.84,Ta0.10,Sb0.06)O3 thin films on SrRuO3 coated ⟨001⟩ oriented SrTiO3 substrates by using pulsed laser deposition. Films grown at 600°C under low laser fluence exhibit a ⟨001⟩ textured columnar grained nanostructure, which coalesce with increasing deposition temperature, leading to a uniform fully epitaxial highly stoichiometric film at 750°C. However, films deposited at lower temperatures exhibit compositional fluctuations as verified by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The epitaxial films of 400-600nm thickness have a room temperature relative permittivity of ˜750 and a loss tangent of ˜6% at 1kHz. The room temperature remnant polarization of the films is 4μC /cm2, while the saturation polarization is 7.1μC/cm2 at 24kV/cm and the coercive field is ˜7.3kV/cm. The results indicate that approximately 50% of the bulk permittivity and 20% of bulk spontaneous polarization can be retained in submicron epitaxial KNN-LT-LS thin film, respectively. The conductivity of the films remains to be a challenge as evidenced by the high loss tangent, leakage currents, and broad hysteresis loops.

  10. Interface strain coupling and its impact on the transport and magnetic properties of LaMnO3 thin films grown on ferroelectrically active substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, R.K.; Wang, Y.; Habermeier, H.-U.; Chan, H.L.W.; Li, X.M.; Luo, H.S.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Strong interface strain coupling in LaMnO 3 /PMN-PT heterostructure. ► In situ dynamic turning of the strain and lattice distortion of LaMnO 3 films. ► Coupling of electrons to lattice strain is crucial to understand the strain effect. - Abstract: Thin films of LaMnO 3 have been epitaxially grown on 〈0 0 1〉 oriented ferroelectric 0.67Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -0.33PbTiO 3 (PMN-PT) single-crystal substrates. The poling of the PMN-PT crystal causes a decrease in the resistance and an increase in the magnetization and magnetoresistance of the LaMnO 3 film. In situ X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that these changes arise from the poling-induced strain in the PMN-PT substrate, which reduces the in-plane tensile strain and the Jahn–Teller (JT) distortion of MnO 6 octahedra of the LaMnO 3 film. Moreover, it was found that the transport properties of LaMnO 3 films are much more sensitive to the poling-induced strain than that of CaMnO 3 films for which there is no JT distortion, implying that the electron–lattice coupling is one of the most important ingredients in understanding the strain effect in LaMnO 3 films.

  11. Molecular interactions in gelatin/chitosan composite films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiao, Congde; Ma, Xianguang; Zhang, Jianlong; Yao, Jinshui

    2017-11-15

    Gelatin and chitosan were mixed at different mass ratios in solution forms, and the rheological properties of these film-forming solutions, upon cooling, were studied. The results indicate that the significant interactions between gelatin and chitosan promote the formation of multiple complexes, reflected by an increase in the storage modulus of gelatin solution. Furthermore, these molecular interactions hinder the formation of gelatin networks, consequently decreasing the storage modulus of polymer gels. Both hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions are formed between gelatin and chitosan, as evidenced by the shift of the amide-II bands of polymers. X-ray patterns of composite films indicate that the contents of triple helices decrease with increasing chitosan content. Only one glass transition temperature (T g ) was observed in composite films with different composition ratios, and it decreases gradually with an increase in chitosan proportion, indicating that gelatin and chitosan have good miscibility and form a wide range of blends. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Composite films from pectin and fish skin gelatin or soybean flour protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, LinShu; Liu, Cheng-Kung; Fishman, Marshall L; Hicks, Kevin B

    2007-03-21

    Composite films were prepared from pectin and fish skin gelatin (FSG) or pectin and soybean flour protein (SFP). The inclusion of protein promoted molecular interactions, resulting in a well-organized homogeneous structure, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy and fracture-acoustic emission analysis. The resultant composite films showed an increase in stiffness and strength and a decrease in water solubility and water vapor transmission rate, in comparison with films cast from pectin alone. The composite films inherited the elastic nature of proteins, thus being more flexible than the pure pectin films. Treating the composite films with glutaraldehyde/methanol induced chemical cross-linking with the proteins and reduced the interstitial spaces among the macromolecules and, consequently, improved their mechanical properties and water resistance. Treating the protein-free pectin films with glutaraldehyde/methanol also improved the Young's modulus and tensile strength, but showed little effect on the water resistance, because the treatment caused only dehydration of the pectin films and the dehydration is reversible. The composite films were biodegradable and possessed moderate mechanical properties and a low water vapor transmission rate. Therefore, the films are considered to have potential applications as packaging or coating materials for food or drug industries.

  13. Transport and Fatigue Properties of Ferroelectric Polymer P(VDF-TrFE) For Nonvolatile Memory Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Hanna, Amir

    2012-01-01

    injection and transport are believed to affect various properties of ferroelectric films such as remnant polarization values and polarization fatigue behavior.. Thus, this thesis aims to study charge injection in P(VDF-TrFE) and its transport properties as a

  14. Enhanced off-resonance magnetoelectric response in laser annealed PZT thick film grown on magnetostrictive amorphous metal substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palneedi, Haribabu [Materials Interface Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Functional Ceramics Group, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), Changwon 641-831 (Korea, Republic of); Maurya, Deepam; Priya, Shashank [Bio-inspired Materials and Devices Laboratory (BMDL), Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems (CEHMS), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 (United States); Kim, Gi-Yeop; Choi, Si-Young, E-mail: youngchoi@kims.re.kr [Materials Modeling and Characterization Department, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), Changwon 641-831 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Suk-Joong L. [Materials Interface Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kwang-Ho [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of); Ryu, Jungho, E-mail: jhryu@kims.re.kr [Functional Ceramics Group, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), Changwon 641-831 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-07-06

    A highly dense, 4 μm-thick Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} (PZT) film is deposited on amorphous magnetostrictive Metglas foil (FeBSi) by granule spray in vacuum process at room temperature, followed by its localized annealing with a continuous-wave 560 nm ytterbium fiber laser radiation. This longer-wavelength laser radiation is able to anneal the whole of thick PZT film layer without any deteriorative effects, such as chemical reaction and/or atomic diffusion, at the interface and crystallization of amorphous Metglas substrate. Greatly enhanced dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the annealed PZT are attributed to its better crystallinity and grain growth induced by laser irradiation. As a result, a colossal off-resonance magnetoelectric (ME) voltage coefficient that is two orders of magnitude larger than previously reported output from PZT/Metglas film-composites is achieved. The present work addresses the problems involved in the fabrication of PZT/Metglas film-composites and opens up emerging possibilities in employing piezoelectric materials with low thermal budget substrates (suitable for integrated electronics) and designing laminate composites for ME based devices.

  15. Preparation and switching kinetics of Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 thin films deposited by reactive sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hase, Takashi; Shiosaki, Tadashi

    1991-01-01

    Ferroelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 [PZT] thin films have been prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si and Pt/SiO 2 /Si substrates using the reactive sputtering method with a metal composite target. The (111)-oriented PZT (80/20) thin films with a perovskite structure have been obtained at a substrate temperature of 595degC on highly (111)-oriented Pt films formed on SiO 2 /Si substrates. When an 8 V pulse sequence was applied to a 265 nm-thick film with an electrode area of 50 x 50 μm 2 , the switching time and the switched charge density measured were 20 ns and 10 μC/cm 2 , respectively. The switching time was strongly dependent on the electrode area. (author)

  16. A dense and strong bonding collagen film for carbon/carbon composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cao, Sheng; Li, Hejun, E-mail: lihejun@nwpu.edu.cn; Li, Kezhi; Lu, Jinhua; Zhang, Leilei

    2015-08-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Significantly enhancement of biocompatibility on C/C composites by preparing a collagen film. • The dense and continuous collagen film had a strong bonding strength with C/C composites after dehydrathermal treatment (DHT) crosslink. • Numerous oxygen-containing functional groups formed on the surface of C/C composites without matrix damage. - Abstract: A strong bonding collagen film was successfully prepared on carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. The surface conditions of the modified C/C composites were detected by contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectra. The roughness, optical morphology, bonding strength and biocompatibility of collagen films at different pH values were detected by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), universal test machine and cytology tests in vitro. After a 4-h modification in 30% H{sub 2}O{sub 2} solution at 100 °C, the contact angle on the surface of C/C composites was decreased from 92.3° to 65.3°. Large quantities of hydroxyl, carboxyl and carbonyl functional groups were formed on the surface of the modified C/C composites. Then a dense and continuous collagen film was prepared on the modified C/C substrate. Bonding strength between collagen film and C/C substrate was reached to 8 MPa level when the pH value of this collagen film was 2.5 after the preparing process. With 2-day dehydrathermal treatment (DHT) crosslinking at 105 °C, the bonding strength was increased to 12 MPa level. At last, the results of in vitro cytological test showed that this collagen film made a great improvement on the biocompatibility on C/C composites.

  17. A dense and strong bonding collagen film for carbon/carbon composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Sheng; Li, Hejun; Li, Kezhi; Lu, Jinhua; Zhang, Leilei

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Significantly enhancement of biocompatibility on C/C composites by preparing a collagen film. • The dense and continuous collagen film had a strong bonding strength with C/C composites after dehydrathermal treatment (DHT) crosslink. • Numerous oxygen-containing functional groups formed on the surface of C/C composites without matrix damage. - Abstract: A strong bonding collagen film was successfully prepared on carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. The surface conditions of the modified C/C composites were detected by contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectra. The roughness, optical morphology, bonding strength and biocompatibility of collagen films at different pH values were detected by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), universal test machine and cytology tests in vitro. After a 4-h modification in 30% H 2 O 2 solution at 100 °C, the contact angle on the surface of C/C composites was decreased from 92.3° to 65.3°. Large quantities of hydroxyl, carboxyl and carbonyl functional groups were formed on the surface of the modified C/C composites. Then a dense and continuous collagen film was prepared on the modified C/C substrate. Bonding strength between collagen film and C/C substrate was reached to 8 MPa level when the pH value of this collagen film was 2.5 after the preparing process. With 2-day dehydrathermal treatment (DHT) crosslinking at 105 °C, the bonding strength was increased to 12 MPa level. At last, the results of in vitro cytological test showed that this collagen film made a great improvement on the biocompatibility on C/C composites

  18. Selective control of multiple ferroelectric switching pathways using a trailing flexoelectric field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sung Min; Wang, Bo; Das, Saikat; Chae, Seung Chul; Chung, Jin-Seok; Yoon, Jong-Gul; Chen, Long-Qing; Yang, Sang Mo; Noh, Tae Won

    2018-05-01

    Flexoelectricity is an electromechanical coupling between electrical polarization and a strain gradient1 that enables mechanical manipulation of polarization without applying an electrical bias2,3. Recently, flexoelectricity was directly demonstrated by mechanically switching the out-of-plane polarization of a uniaxial system with a scanning probe microscope tip3,4. However, the successful application of flexoelectricity in low-symmetry multiaxial ferroelectrics and therefore active manipulation of multiple domains via flexoelectricity have not yet been achieved. Here, we demonstrate that the symmetry-breaking flexoelectricity offers a powerful route for the selective control of multiple domain switching pathways in multiaxial ferroelectric materials. Specifically, we use a trailing flexoelectric field that is created by the motion of a mechanically loaded scanning probe microscope tip. By controlling the SPM scan direction, we can deterministically select either stable 71° ferroelastic switching or 180° ferroelectric switching in a multiferroic magnetoelectric BiFeO3 thin film. Phase-field simulations reveal that the amplified in-plane trailing flexoelectric field is essential for this domain engineering. Moreover, we show that mechanically switched domains have a good retention property. This work opens a new avenue for the deterministic selection of nanoscale ferroelectric domains in low-symmetry materials for non-volatile magnetoelectric devices and multilevel data storage.

  19. Interfaces study of all-polysaccharide composite films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šimkovic, I.; Kelnar, Ivan; Mendichi, R.; Tracz, A.; Filip, J.; Bertók, T.; Kasák, P.

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 72, č. 3 (2018), s. 711-718 ISSN 0366-6352 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : all-polysaccharide composites * elemental analysis * film properties study Subject RIV: JI - Composite Materials OBOR OECD: Composites (including laminates, reinforced plastics, cermets, combined natural and synthetic fibre fabrics Impact factor: 1.258, year: 2016

  20. Polymer Ferroelectric Memory for Flexible Electronics

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Mohd Adnan

    2013-01-01

    With the projected growth of the flexible and plastic electronics industry, there is renewed interest in the research community to develop high performance all-polymeric memory which will be an essential component of any electronic circuit. Some of the efforts in polymer memories are based on different mechanisms such as filamentary conduction, charge trapping effects, dipole alignment, and reduction-oxidation to name a few. Among these the leading candidate are those based on the mechanism of ferroelectricity. Polymer ferroelectric memory can be used in niche applications like smart cards, RFID tags, sensors etc. This dissertation will focus on novel material and device engineering to fabricate high performance low temperature polymeric ferroelectric memory for flexible electronics. We address and find solutions to some fundamental problems affecting all polymer ferroelectric memory like high coercive fields, fatigue and thermal stability issues, poor breakdown strength and poor p-type hole mobilities. Some of the strategies adopted in this dissertation are: Use of different flexible substrates, electrode engineering to improve charge injection and fatigue properties of ferroelectric polymers, large area ink jet printing of ferroelectric memory devices, use of polymer blends to improve insulating properties of ferroelectric polymers and use of oxide semiconductors to fabricate high mobility p-type ferroelectric memory. During the course of this dissertation we have fabricated: the first all-polymer ferroelectric capacitors with solvent modified highly conducting polymeric poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) [PEDOT:PSS] electrodes on plastic substrates with performance as good as devices with metallic Platinum-Gold electrodes on silicon substrates; the first all-polymer high performance ferroelectric memory on banknotes for security applications; novel ferroelectric capacitors based on blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride

  1. Polymer Ferroelectric Memory for Flexible Electronics

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Mohd Adnan

    2013-11-01

    With the projected growth of the flexible and plastic electronics industry, there is renewed interest in the research community to develop high performance all-polymeric memory which will be an essential component of any electronic circuit. Some of the efforts in polymer memories are based on different mechanisms such as filamentary conduction, charge trapping effects, dipole alignment, and reduction-oxidation to name a few. Among these the leading candidate are those based on the mechanism of ferroelectricity. Polymer ferroelectric memory can be used in niche applications like smart cards, RFID tags, sensors etc. This dissertation will focus on novel material and device engineering to fabricate high performance low temperature polymeric ferroelectric memory for flexible electronics. We address and find solutions to some fundamental problems affecting all polymer ferroelectric memory like high coercive fields, fatigue and thermal stability issues, poor breakdown strength and poor p-type hole mobilities. Some of the strategies adopted in this dissertation are: Use of different flexible substrates, electrode engineering to improve charge injection and fatigue properties of ferroelectric polymers, large area ink jet printing of ferroelectric memory devices, use of polymer blends to improve insulating properties of ferroelectric polymers and use of oxide semiconductors to fabricate high mobility p-type ferroelectric memory. During the course of this dissertation we have fabricated: the first all-polymer ferroelectric capacitors with solvent modified highly conducting polymeric poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) [PEDOT:PSS] electrodes on plastic substrates with performance as good as devices with metallic Platinum-Gold electrodes on silicon substrates; the first all-polymer high performance ferroelectric memory on banknotes for security applications; novel ferroelectric capacitors based on blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride

  2. Nonlinear dielectric response in ferroelectric thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lente, M. H.

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Electrical permittivity dependence on electric external bias field was investigated in PZT thin films. The results revealed the existence of two mechanisms contributing to the electrical permittivity. The first one was related to the domain reorientation, which was responsible for a strong no linear dielectric behavior, acting only during the poling process. The second mechanism was associated with the domain wall vibrations, which presented a reasonable linear electrical behavior with the applied bias field, contributing always to the permittivity independently of the poling state of the sample. The results also indicated that the gradual reduction of the permittivity with the increase of the bias field strength may be related to the gradual bending of the domain walls. It is believed that the domain wall bending induces a hardening and/or a thinning of the walls, thus reducing the electrical permittivity. A reinterpretation of the model proposed in the literature to explain the dielectric characteristics of ferroelectric materials at high electric field regime is proposed.

    Se ha estudiado la dependencia de la permitividad eléctrica con un campo bias externo en láminas delgadas de PZT. Los resultados revelaron la existencia de dos mecanismos que contribuyen a la permitividad eléctrica. El primero está relacionado con la reorientación de dominios, actúa sólo durante el proceso de polarización y es responsable de un comportamiento dieléctrico fuertemente no lineal. El segundo mecanismo se asocia a las vibraciones de las paredes de dominio, presentando un comportamiento eléctrico razonablemente lineal con el campo bias aplicado, contribuyendo siempre a la permitividad independientemente del estado de polarización de la muestra. Los resultados indicaron también que la reducción gradual de la permitividad con el aumento de la fuerza del campo bias podría estar relacionada con el “bending” gradual de las paredes de dominio

  3. Nanoscale mechanical switching of ferroelectric polarization via flexoelectricity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Yijia; Hong, Zijian; Britson, Jason; Chen, Long-Qing [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States)

    2015-01-12

    Flexoelectric coefficient is a fourth-rank tensor arising from the coupling between strain gradient and electric polarization and thus exists in all crystals. It is generally ignored for macroscopic crystals due to its small magnitude. However, at the nanoscale, flexoelectric contributions may become significant and can potentially be utilized for device applications. Using the phase-field method, we study the mechanical switching of electric polarization in ferroelectric thin films by a strain gradient created via an atomic force microscope tip. Our simulation results show good agreement with existing experimental observations. We examine the competition between the piezoelectric and flexoelectric effects and provide an understanding of the role of flexoelectricity in the polarization switching. Also, by changing the pressure and film thickness, we reveal that the flexoelectric field at the film bottom can be used as a criterion to determine whether domain switching may happen under a mechanical force.

  4. Effects of {sup 60}Co γ-ray irradiation on microstructure and ferroelectric properties of Bi{sub 3.25}La{sub 0.75}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Zan [Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870 (China); Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang 110142 (China); Jiang, Wei, E-mail: weijiang.sut.edu@gmail.com [Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870 (China); Li, San-xi [Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870 (China); Tong, Jun-sheng [Liaoning Provincial Academy of Agricultural Science Radiation Center, 110142 (China)

    2016-01-01

    Bi{sub 3.25}La{sub 0.75}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} (BLT) thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates through sol–gel method. Films underwent {sup 60}Co γ-ray irradiation with different doses; 0, 50, 100 and 150 kGy, respectively. Impacts of γ-ray on the microstructure, ferroelectric properties, leakage current density and fatigue characteristic were studied in detail. The results of SEM images show that grain patterns become irregular. Remnant polarization (2Pr) and coercive field (2Ec) decrease with irradiation dose increase. C–V curves reveal obvious asymmetry along y-axis. The irradiated thin films display lower leakage current density and fatigue endurance up to more than 10{sup 10} switching cycles. These results suggest that radiation can improve the film performance in some areas.

  5. Magnetic and electromagnetic properties of Pr doped strontium ferrite/polyaniline composite film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Ying; Li, Yuqing; Wang, Yan, E-mail: wangyan287580632@126.com

    2014-11-15

    This paper reported three acid (including hydrochloric acid HCl, p-toluenesulfonic acid PTS and D-camphor-10-acid CSA) doped SrPr{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 11.8}O{sub 19}/PANI composite film and the HCl–PANI film prepared by a sol–gel method and in-situ oxidative polymerization. The characteristics of the film phase structure, surface morphology, conductivity and magnetic and electromagnetic properties were studied by using XRD, XPS, FESEM, four-probe tester, VSM and Vector Network Analyzer. The resistivity of organic acid doped composite films is higher than that of the HCl doped one. The saturation and remanent magnetization of PTS and HCl doped composite films are greater than the CSA-doped one; however, the coercivity of the three acid doped composite films is basically 5546 Oe. The saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization and coercivity of SrPr{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 11.8}O{sub 19} film are greater than those of the SrPr{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 11.8}O{sub 19}–PANI composite film. In the frequency range of 8–12 GHz, the dielectric loss of HCl–PANI film is the maximum, and the dielectric loss of SrPr{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 11.8}O{sub 19} film is the minimum; the magnetic loss of the four films is in descending order as SrPr{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 11.8}O{sub 19} film, PrSrM/(HCl–PANI) composite film, PrSrM/(CSA–PANI) and HCl–PANI film. - Highlights: • Synthesizing three acid doped SrPr{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 11.8}O{sub 19}/PANI composite films. • By sol–gel method and in-situ oxidative polymerization. • With excellent magnetic and electromagnetic properties. • The particular coating structure of PANI and Sr-ferrite. • Great interest for magnetic material and microwave absorbers.

  6. Organometal Halide Perovskite Solar Absorbers and Ferroelectric Nanocomposites for Harvesting Solar Energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hettiarachchi, Chaminda Lakmal

    Organometal halide perovskite absorbers such as methylammonium lead iodide chloride (CH3NH3PbI3-xClx), have emerged as an exciting new material family for photovoltaics due to its appealing features that include suitable direct bandgap with intense light absorbance, band gap tunability, ultra-fast charge carrier generation, slow electron-hole recombination rates, long electron and hole diffusion lengths, microsecond-long balanced carrier mobilities, and ambipolarity. The standard method of preparing CH3NH3PbI3-xClx perovskite precursors is a tedious process involving multiple synthesis steps and, the chemicals being used (hydroiodic acid and methylamine) are quite expensive. This work describes a novel, single-step, simple, and cost-effective solution approach to prepare CH3NH3PbI3-xClx thin films by the direct reaction of the commercially available CH3NH 3Cl (or MACl) and PbI2. A detailed analysis of the structural and optical properties of CH3NH3PbI3-xCl x thin films deposited by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition is presented. Optimum growth conditions have been identified. It is shown that the deposited thin films are highly crystalline with intense optical absorbance. Charge carrier separation of these thin films can be enhanced by establishing a local internal electric field that can reduce electron-hole recombination resulting in increased photo current. The intrinsic ferroelectricity in nanoparticles of Barium Titanate (BaTiO3 -BTO) embedded in the solar absorber can generate such an internal field. A hybrid structure of CH3NH 3PbI3-xClx perovskite and ferroelectric BTO nanocomposite FTO/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3-xClx : BTO/P3HT/Cu as a new type of photovoltaic device is investigated. Aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition process that is scalable to large-scale manufacturing was used for the growth of the multilayer structure. TiO 2 and P3HT with additives were used as ETL and HTL respectively. The growth process of the solar absorber layer includes the

  7. Retention of intermediate polarization states in ferroelectric materials enabling memories for multi-bit data storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Dong; Asadi, Kamal; Blom, Paul W. M.; Leeuw, Dago M. de, E-mail: deleeuw@mpip-mainz.mpg.de [Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Katsouras, Ilias [Holst Centre, High Tech Campus 31, 5656AE Eindhoven (Netherlands); Groen, Wilhelm A. [Holst Centre, High Tech Campus 31, 5656AE Eindhoven (Netherlands); Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1 2629 HS, Delft (Netherlands)

    2016-06-06

    A homogeneous ferroelectric single crystal exhibits only two remanent polarization states that are stable over time, whereas intermediate, or unsaturated, polarization states are thermodynamically instable. Commonly used ferroelectric materials however, are inhomogeneous polycrystalline thin films or ceramics. To investigate the stability of intermediate polarization states, formed upon incomplete, or partial, switching, we have systematically studied their retention in capacitors comprising two classic ferroelectric materials, viz. random copolymer of vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene, P(VDF-TrFE), and Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3}. Each experiment started from a discharged and electrically depolarized ferroelectric capacitor. Voltage pulses were applied to set the given polarization states. The retention was measured as a function of time at various temperatures. The intermediate polarization states are stable over time, up to the Curie temperature. We argue that the remarkable stability originates from the coexistence of effectively independent domains, with different values of polarization and coercive field. A domain growth model is derived quantitatively describing deterministic switching between the intermediate polarization states. We show that by using well-defined voltage pulses, the polarization can be set to any arbitrary value, allowing arithmetic programming. The feasibility of arithmetic programming along with the inherent stability of intermediate polarization states makes ferroelectric materials ideal candidates for multibit data storage.

  8. Retention of intermediate polarization states in ferroelectric materials enabling memories for multi-bit data storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Dong; Katsouras, Ilias; Asadi, Kamal; Groen, Wilhelm A.; Blom, Paul W. M.; de Leeuw, Dago M.

    2016-06-01

    A homogeneous ferroelectric single crystal exhibits only two remanent polarization states that are stable over time, whereas intermediate, or unsaturated, polarization states are thermodynamically instable. Commonly used ferroelectric materials however, are inhomogeneous polycrystalline thin films or ceramics. To investigate the stability of intermediate polarization states, formed upon incomplete, or partial, switching, we have systematically studied their retention in capacitors comprising two classic ferroelectric materials, viz. random copolymer of vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene, P(VDF-TrFE), and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3. Each experiment started from a discharged and electrically depolarized ferroelectric capacitor. Voltage pulses were applied to set the given polarization states. The retention was measured as a function of time at various temperatures. The intermediate polarization states are stable over time, up to the Curie temperature. We argue that the remarkable stability originates from the coexistence of effectively independent domains, with different values of polarization and coercive field. A domain growth model is derived quantitatively describing deterministic switching between the intermediate polarization states. We show that by using well-defined voltage pulses, the polarization can be set to any arbitrary value, allowing arithmetic programming. The feasibility of arithmetic programming along with the inherent stability of intermediate polarization states makes ferroelectric materials ideal candidates for multibit data storage.

  9. Nanocellulose-Zeolite Composite Films for Odor Elimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keshavarzi, Neda; Mashayekhy Rad, Farshid; Mace, Amber; Ansari, Farhan; Akhtar, Farid; Nilsson, Ulrika; Berglund, Lars; Bergström, Lennart

    2015-07-08

    Free standing and strong odor-removing composite films of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) with a high content of nanoporous zeolite adsorbents have been colloidally processed. Thermogravimetric desorption analysis (TGA) and infrared spectroscopy combined with computational simulations showed that commercially available silicalite-1 and ZSM-5 have a high affinity and uptake of volatile odors like ethanethiol and propanethiol, also in the presence of water. The simulations showed that propanethiol has a higher affinity, up to 16%, to the two zeolites compared with ethanethiol. Highly flexible and strong free-standing zeolite-CNF films with an adsorbent loading of 89 w/w% have been produced by Ca-induced gelation and vacuum filtration. The CNF-network controls the strength of the composite films and 100 μm thick zeolite-CNF films with a CNF content of less than 10 vol % displayed a tensile strength approaching 10 MPa. Headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis showed that the CNF-zeolite films can eliminate the volatile thiol-based odors to concentrations below the detection ability of the human olfactory system. Odor removing zeolite-cellulose nanofibril films could enable improved transport and storage of fruits and vegetables rich in odors, for example, onion and the tasty but foul-smelling South-East Asian Durian fruit.

  10. Space-charge-mediated anomalous ferroelectric switching in P(VDF-TrEE) polymer films

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Weijin; Wang, Zhihong; Du, Yuanmin; Zhang, Xixiang; Wu, Tao

    2014-01-01

    We report on the switching dynamics of P(VDF-TrEE) copolymer devices and the realization of additional substable ferroelectric states via modulation of the coupling between polarizations and space charges. The space-charge-limited current

  11. Crystal Structure and Ferroelectric Properties of ε-Ga2O3 Films Grown on (0001)-Sapphire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mezzadri, Francesco; Calestani, Gianluca; Boschi, Francesco; Delmonte, Davide; Bosi, Matteo; Fornari, Roberto

    2016-11-21

    The crystal structure and ferroelectric properties of ε-Ga 2 O 3 deposited by low-temperature MOCVD on (0001)-sapphire were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and the dynamic hysteresis measurement technique. A thorough investigation of this relatively unknown polymorph of Ga 2 O 3 showed that it is composed of layers of both octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated Ga 3+ sites, which appear to be occupied with a 66% probability. The refinement of the crystal structure in the noncentrosymmetric space group P6 3 mc pointed out the presence of uncompensated electrical dipoles suggesting ferroelectric properties, which were finally demonstrated by independent measurements of the ferroelectric hysteresis. A clear epitaxial relation is observed with respect to the c-oriented sapphire substrate, with the Ga 2 O 3 [10-10] direction being parallel to the Al 2 O 3 direction [11-20], yielding a lattice mismatch of about 4.1%.

  12. Suppression of slow capacitance relaxation phenomenon in Pt/Ba0.3Sr0.7TiO3/Pt thin film ferroelectric structures by annealing in oxygen atmosphere

    KAUST Repository

    Altynnikov, A. G.

    2014-01-27

    The impact of oxygen annealing on the switching time of ferroelectric thin film capacitor structures Pt/Ba0.3Sr0.7TiO3/Pt was investigated. The response of their capacitance on pulsed control voltages before and after annealing was experimentally measured. It was demonstrated that the annealing results in suppression of the capacitance slow relaxation processes and increase of the threshold control voltages. These structures can therefore be attractive for fabrication of fast acting microwave devices. © 2014 Author(s).

  13. Properties of polyvinyl alcohol/xylan composite films with citric acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuaiyang; Ren, Junli; Li, Weiying; Sun, Runcang; Liu, Shijie

    2014-03-15

    Composite films of xylan and polyvinyl alcohol were produced with citric acid as a new plasticizer or a cross-linking agent. The effects of citric acid content and polyvinyl alcohol/xylan weight ratio on the mechanical properties, thermal stability, solubility, degree of swelling and water vapor permeability of the composite films were investigated. The intermolecular interactions and morphology of composite films were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. The results indicated that polyvinyl alcohol/xylan composite films had good compatibility. With an increase in citric acid content from 10% to 50%, the tensile strength reduced from 35.1 to 11.6 MPa. However, the elongation at break increased sharply from 15.1% to 249.5%. The values of water vapor permeability ranged from 2.35 to 2.95 × 10(-7)g/(mm(2)h). Interactions between xylan and polyvinyl alcohol in the presence of citric acid become stronger, which were caused by hydrogen bond and ester bond formation among the components during film forming. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Granular and layered ferroelectric–ferromagnetic thin-film nanocomposites as promising materials with high magnetotransmission effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akbashev, A.R. [Department of Materials Science, Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Telegin, A.V., E-mail: telegin@imp.uran.ru [M.N. Miheev Institute of Metal Physics of Ural Branch of RAS, 620990 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation); Kaul, A.R. [Department of Chemistry, Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Sukhorukov, Yu.P. [M.N. Miheev Institute of Metal Physics of Ural Branch of RAS, 620990 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation)

    2015-06-15

    Epitaxial thin films of granular and layered nanocomposites consisting of ferromagnetic perovskite Pr{sub 1–x}Sr{sub x}MnO{sub 3} and ferroelectric hexagonal LuMnO{sub 3} were grown on ZrO{sub 2}(Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A self-organized growth of the granular composite took place in situ as a result of phase separation of the Pr–Sr–Lu–Mn–O system into the perovskite and hexagonal phases. Optical transmission measurements revealed a large negative magnetotransmission effect in the layered nanocomposite over a wide spectral and temperature range. The granular nanocomposite unexpectedly showed an even larger, but positive, magnetotransmission effect at room temperature. - Highlights: • Thin-film ferromagnetic–ferroelectric nanocomposites have been prepared by MOCVD. • Giant change of optical transparency of nanocomposites in magnetic field was detected. • Positive magnetotransmission in the granular nanocomposite was discovered in the IR. • Negative magnetotransmission in the layered nanocomposite was revealed in the IR. • Ferroelectric–ferromangetic nanocomposite is a promising material for optoelectronics.

  15. Granular and layered ferroelectric–ferromagnetic thin-film nanocomposites as promising materials with high magnetotransmission effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akbashev, A.R.; Telegin, A.V.; Kaul, A.R.; Sukhorukov, Yu.P.

    2015-01-01

    Epitaxial thin films of granular and layered nanocomposites consisting of ferromagnetic perovskite Pr 1–x Sr x MnO 3 and ferroelectric hexagonal LuMnO 3 were grown on ZrO 2 (Y 2 O 3 ) substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A self-organized growth of the granular composite took place in situ as a result of phase separation of the Pr–Sr–Lu–Mn–O system into the perovskite and hexagonal phases. Optical transmission measurements revealed a large negative magnetotransmission effect in the layered nanocomposite over a wide spectral and temperature range. The granular nanocomposite unexpectedly showed an even larger, but positive, magnetotransmission effect at room temperature. - Highlights: • Thin-film ferromagnetic–ferroelectric nanocomposites have been prepared by MOCVD. • Giant change of optical transparency of nanocomposites in magnetic field was detected. • Positive magnetotransmission in the granular nanocomposite was discovered in the IR. • Negative magnetotransmission in the layered nanocomposite was revealed in the IR. • Ferroelectric–ferromangetic nanocomposite is a promising material for optoelectronics

  16. Thickness dependent charge transport in ferroelectric BaTiO3 heterojunctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Pooja; Rout, P. K.; Singh, Manju; Rakshit, R. K.; Dogra, Anjana

    2015-09-01

    We have investigated the effect of ferroelectric barium titanate (BaTiO3) film thickness on the charge transport mechanism in pulsed laser deposited epitaxial metal-ferroelectric semiconductor junctions. The current (I)-voltage (V) measurements across the junctions comprising of 20-500 nm thick BaTiO3 and conducting bottom electrode (Nb: SrTiO3 substrate or La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 buffer layer) demonstrate the space charge limited conduction. Further analysis indicates a reduction in the ratio of free to trapped carriers with increasing thickness in spite of decreasing trap density. Such behaviour arises the deepening of the shallow trap levels (I-V curves implies a bipolar resistive switching behaviour, which can be explained in terms of charge trapping and de-trapping process.

  17. Thermoelectric properties of conducting polyaniline/BaTiO3 nanoparticle composite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anno, H.; Yamaguchi, K.; Nakabayashi, T.; Kurokawa, H.; Akagi, F.; Hojo, M.; Toshima, N.

    2011-05-01

    Conducting polyaniline (PANI)/BaTiO3 nanoparticle composite films with different molar ratio values R=1, 5, 10, and 100 have been prepared on a quartz substrate by casting the m-cresol solution of PANI, (±)-10-camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) and BaTiO3 nanoparticle with an average diameter of about 20 nm. The CSA-doped PANI/BaTiO3 composite films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-Vis transmission spectroscopy. The Seebeck coefficient and the electrical conductivity of the films with different R values, together with CSA-doped PANI films, were measured in the temperature range from room temperature to ~400 K. The relation between the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical conductivity in the composite films are discussed from a comparison of them with those of CSA-doped PANI films and other PANI composite films.

  18. Magnetoelectricity in composites

    CERN Document Server

    Bichurin, Mirza

    2011-01-01

    Magnetoelectric composites, which simultaneously exhibit ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, have recently stimulated a sharply increasing number of research activities for their scientific interest and significant technological promise in the novel multifunctional devices. Natural single-phase compounds are rare, and their magnetoelectric responses are either relatively weak or occurs at temperatures too low for practical applications. In contrast, composites, which incorporate both ferroelectric and ferri-/ferromagnetic phases, typically yield giant magnetoelectric coupling response above r

  19. Influence of Fe{sup 3+} substitution on the dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics of Lead Indium Niobate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Divya, A.S.; Kumar, V., E-mail: vkumar10@yahoo.com

    2015-07-15

    Highlights: • Prepared phase-pure Fe{sup 3+}-substituted Lead Indium Niobate, Pb[(In{sub 0.50−x}Fe{sub x})Nb{sub 0.50}]O{sub 3} by sol–gel method. • Spontaneous Relaxor (R) → Ferroelectric (FE) transition observed for the composition with x = 0.20. • Local structural rearrangement responsible for R → FE transition has been confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. - Abstract: Lead Indium Niobate, Pb(In{sub 0.50}Nb{sub 0.50})O{sub 3} (PIN) is a complex perovskite that exhibits Relaxor (R) characteristics. In this study, we report the synthesis of phase-pure compositions in the system Pb[(In{sub 0.50−x}Fe{sub x})Nb{sub 0.50}]O{sub 3} by sol–gel method and discuss the influence of isovalent substitution of Indium by Iron on the dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics. Spontaneous transition to the Ferroelectric (FE) phase has been observed for the composition having x = 0.20. Local structural rearrangements responsible for R → FE transition have also been studied by Raman spectroscopy and are discussed in detail.

  20. One-step synthesis of PbSe-ZnSe composite thin film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abe Seishi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study investigates the preparation of PbSe-ZnSe composite thin films by simultaneous hot-wall deposition (HWD from multiple resources. The XRD result reveals that the solubility limit of Pb in ZnSe is quite narrow, less than 1 mol%, with obvious phase-separation in the composite thin films. A nanoscale elemental mapping of the film containing 5 mol% PbSe indicates that isolated PbSe nanocrystals are dispersed in the ZnSe matrix. The optical absorption edge of the composite thin films shifts toward the low-photon-energy region as the PbSe content increases. The use of a phase-separating PbSe-ZnSe system and HWD techniques enables simple production of the composite package.

  1. Complex permittivity measurements of ferroelectric employing composite dielectric resonator technique

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Krupka, J.; Zychowicz, T.; Bovtun, Viktor; Veljko, Sergiy

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 53, č. 10 (2006), s. 1883-1888 ISSN 0885-3010 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010213; GA ČR(CZ) GA202/04/0993; GA ČR(CZ) GA202/06/0403 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : dielectric resonator * ferroelectrics * microwave measurements Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.729, year: 2006

  2. A frequency output ferroelectric phase PNZT capacitor-based temperature sensor

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Naveed; Omran, Hesham; Yao, Yingbang; Salama, Khaled N.; Arsalan, Muhammad

    2016-01-01

    measured below the Curie temperature of the ferroelectric capacitor. The capacitance of the 20/80 (Zr/Ti) composition PNZT capacitor changes by 29% for a temperature change from 10°C to 100°C, which translates to 0.32%/°C temperature sensitivity

  3. Evidence for oxygen vacancy or ferroelectric polarization induced switchable diode and photovoltaic effects in BiFeO3 based thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Yiping; Guo Bing; Dong Wen; Li Hua; Liu Hezhou

    2013-01-01

    The diode and photovoltaic effects of BiFeO 3 and Bi 0.9 Sr 0.1 FeO 3−δ polycrystalline thin films were investigated by poling the films with increased magnitude and alternating direction. It was found that both electromigration of oxygen vacancies and polarization flipping are able to induce switchable diode and photovoltaic effects. For the Bi 0.9 Sr 0.1 FeO 3−δ thin films with high oxygen vacancy concentration, reversibly switchable diode and photovoltaic effects can be observed due to the electromigration of oxygen vacancies under an electric field much lower than its coercive field. However, for the pure BiFeO 3 thin films with lower oxygen vacancy concentration, the reversibly switchable diode and photovoltaic effect is hard to detect until the occurrence of polarization flipping. The switchable diode and photovoltaic effects can be explained well using the concepts of Schottky-like barrier-to-Ohmic contacts resulting from the combination of oxygen vacancies and polarization. The sign of photocurrent could be independent of the direction of polarization when the modulation of the energy band induced by oxygen vacancies is large enough to offset that induced by polarization. The photovoltaic effect induced by the electromigration of oxygen vacancies is unstable due to the diffusion of oxygen vacancies or the recombination of oxygen vacancies with hopping electrons. Our work provides deep insights into the nature of diode and photovoltaic effects in ferroelectric films, and will facilitate the advanced design of switchable devices combining spintronic, electronic, and optical functionalities. (paper)

  4. Intrinsic stability of ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of epitaxial PbZr0.45Ti0.55O3 thin films on silicon in relation to grain tilt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evert P Houwman, Minh D Nguyen, Matthijn Dekkers and Guus Rijnders

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Piezoelectric thin films of PbZr0.45Ti0.55O3 were grown on Si substrates in four different ways, resulting in different crystalline structures, as determined by x-ray analysis. The crystalline structures were different in the spread in tilt angle and the in-plane alignment of the crystal planes between different grains. It is found that the deviations of the ferroelectric polarization loop from that of the ideal rectangular loop (reduction of the remanent polarization with respect to the saturation polarization, dielectric constant of the film, slanting of the loop, coercive field value all scale with the average tilt angle. A model is derived based on the assumption that the tilted grain boundaries between grains affect the film properties locally. This model describes the observed trends. The effective piezoelectric coefficient d33,eff shows also a weak dependence on the average tilt angle for films grown in a single layer, whereas it is strongly reduced for the films deposited in multiple layers. The least affected properties are obtained for the most epitaxial films, i.e. grown on a SrTiO3 epitaxial seed layer, by pulsed laser deposition. These films are intrinsically stable and do not require poling to acquire these stable properties.

  5. Giant Magnetoelectric Energy Conversion Utilizing Inter-Ferroelectric Phase Transformations in Ferroics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkel, Peter; Staruch, Margo

    Phase transition-based electromechanical transduction permits achieving a non-resonant broadband mechanical energy conversion see (Finkel et al Actuators, 5 [1] 2. (2015)) , the idea is based on generation high energy density per cycle , at least 100x of magnitude larger than linear piezoelectric type generators in stress biased [011]cut relaxor ferroelectric Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PIN-PMN-PT) single crystal can generate reversible strain >0.35% at remarkably low fields (0.1 MV/m) for tens of millions of cycles. Recently we demonstrated that large strain and polarization rotation can be generated for over 40 x 106cycles with little fatigue by realization of reversible ferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition in [011] cut PIN-PMN-PT relaxor ferroelectric single crystal while sweeping through the transition with a low applied electric field <0.18 MV/m under mechanical stress. This methodology was extended in the present work to propose magnetoelectric (ME) composite hybrid system comprised of highly magnetostrictive alloymFe81.4Ga18.6 (Galfenol), and lead indium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PIN-PMN-PT) domain engineered relaxor ferroelectric single crystal. A small time-varying magnetic field applied to this system causes the magnetostrictive element to expand, and the resulting stress forces the phase change in the relaxor ferroelectric single crystal. ME coupling coefficient was fond to achieve 80 V/cm Oe near the FR-FO phase transition that is at least 100X of magnitude higher than any currently reported values.

  6. High-performance ferroelectric and magnetoresistive materials for next-generation thermal detector arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, Michael A.; Donohue, Paul P.; Watton, Rex; Williams, Dennis J.; Anthony, Carl J.; Blamire, Mark G.

    2002-12-01

    This paper discusses the potential thermal imaging performance achievable from thermal detector arrays and concludes that the current generation of thin-film ferroelectric and resistance bolometer based detector arrays are limited by the detector materials used. It is proposed that the next generation of large uncooled focal plane arrays will need to look towards higher performance detector materials - particularly if they aim to approach the fundamental performance limits and compete with cooled photon detector arrays. Two examples of bolometer thin-film materials are described that achieve high performance from operating around phase transitions. The material Lead Scandium Tantalate (PST) has a paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition around room temperature and is used with an applied field in the dielectric bolometer mode for thermal imaging. PST films grown by sputtering and liquid-source CVD have shown merit figures for thermal imaging a factor of 2 to 3 times higher than PZT-based pyroelectric thin films. The material Lanthanum Calcium Manganite (LCMO) has a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition around -20oC. This paper describes recent measurements of TCR and 1/f noise in pulsed laser-deposited LCMO films on Neodymium Gallate substrates. These results show that LCMO not only has high TCR's - up to 30%/K - but also low 1/f excess noise, with bolometer merit figures at least an order of magnitude higher than Vanadium Oxide, making it ideal for the next generation of microbolometer arrays. These high performance properties come at the expense of processing complexities and novel device designs will need to be introduced to realize the potential of these materials in the next generation of thermal detectors.

  7. Stable Ferroelectric Behavior of Nb-Modified Bi0.5K0.5TiO3-Bi(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O3 Lead-Free Relaxor Ferroelectric Ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaman, Arif; Malik, Rizwan Ahmed; Maqbool, Adnan; Hussain, Ali; Ahmed, Tanveer; Song, Tae Kwon; Kim, Won-Jeong; Kim, Myong-Ho

    2018-03-01

    Crystal structure, dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and electric field-induced strain properties of lead-free Nb-modified 0.96Bi0.5K0.5TiO3-0.04Bi(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O3 (BKT-BMT) piezoelectric ceramics were investigated. Crystal structure analysis showed a gradual phase transition from tetragonal to pseudocubic phase with increasing Nb content. The optimal piezoelectric property of small-signal d 33 was enhanced up to ˜ 68 pC/N with a lower coercive field ( E c) of ˜ 22 kV/cm and an improved remnant polarization ( P r) of ˜ 13 μC/cm2 for x = 0.020. A relaxor-like behavior with a frequency-dependent Curie temperature T m was observed, and a high T m around 320°C was obtained in the investigated system. This study suggests that the ferroelectric properties of BKT-BMT was significantly improved by means of Nb substitution. The possible shift of depolarization temperature T d toward high temperature T m may have triggered the spontaneous relaxor to ferroelectric phase transition with long-range ferroelectric order without any traces of a nonergodic relaxor state in contradiction with Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based systems. The possible enhancement in ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties near the critical composition x = 0.020 may be attributed to the increased anharmonicity of lattice vibrations which may facilitate the observed phase transition from a low-symmetry tetragonal to a high-symmetry cubic phase with a decrease in the lattice anisotropy of an undoped sample. This highly flexible (at a unit cell level) narrow compositional range triggers the enhancement of d 33 and P r values.

  8. On the relationship between field cycling and imprint in ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fengler, F. P. G.; Hoffmann, M.; Slesazeck, S.; Mikolajick, T.; Schroeder, U.

    2018-05-01

    Manifold research has been done to understand the detailed mechanisms behind the performance instabilities of ferroelectric capacitors based on hafnia. The wake-up together with the imprint might be the most controversially discussed phenomena so far. Among crystallographic phase change contributions and oxygen vacancy diffusion, electron trapping as the origin has been discussed recently. In this publication, we provide evidence that the imprint is indeed caused by electron trapping into deep states at oxygen vacancies. This impedes the ferroelectric switching and causes a shift of the hysteresis. Moreover, we show that the wake-up mechanism can be caused by a local imprint of the domains in the pristine state by the very same root cause. The various domain orientations together with an electron trapping can cause a constriction of the hysteresis and an internal bias field in the pristine state. Additionally, we show that this local imprint can even cause almost anti-ferroelectric like behavior in ferroelectric films.

  9. Graphene synthesis from graphite/Ni composite films grown by sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Dong Hee; Yang, Seung Bum; Shin, Dong Yeol; Kim, Chang Oh; Kim, Sung; Choi, Suk Ho; Paek, Sang Hyon

    2012-01-01

    Graphite/Ni composite films have been deposited on SiO 2 /Si (100) wafers by varying their graphite concentration (n G ) and thickness (t) from 2 to 12 wt% and 40 to 400 nm, respectively, in a RF sputtering system, subsequently annealed at 900 .deg. C for 4 min, and then slowly cooled to room temperature to form graphene layers on Ni surfaces. Several structural-analysis techniques reveal the optimum nG (∼8 wt%) and t (∼160 nm) of the composite films for the synthesis of fewest-layer, defect-minimized graphene. At the annealing temperature, carbon atoms diffuse out from the composite film, followed by their precipitation as graphene on the Ni layer as the carbon solubility limit in Ni is reached during the cooling period. Based on this mechanism, the optimum conditions are explained. Our approach provides an advantage in that the number of layers can be simply tuned by varying n G and t of the composite films.

  10. Electrochemical and Antimicrobial Properties of Diamondlike Carbon-Metal Composite Films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MORRISON, M. L.; BUCHANAN, R. A.; LIAW, P. K.; BERRY, C. J.; BRIGMON, R.; RIESTER, L.; JIN, C.; NARAYAN, R. J.

    2005-05-11

    Implants containing antimicrobial metals may reduce morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs associated with medical device-related infections. We have deposited diamondlike carbon-silver (DLC-Ag), diamondlike carbon-platinum (DLC-Pt), and diamondlike carbon-silver-platinum (DLC-AgPt) thin films using a multicomponent target pulsed laser deposition process. Transmission electron microscopy of the DLC-silver and DLC-platinum composite films revealed that the silver and platinum self-assemble into nanoparticle arrays within the diamondlike carbon matrix. The diamondlike carbon-silver film possesses hardness and Young's modulus values of 37 GPa and 331 GPa, respectively. The diamondlike carbon-metal composite films exhibited passive behavior at open-circuit potentials. Low corrosion rates were observed during testing in a phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) electrolyte. In addition, the diamondlike carbon-metal composite films were found to be immune to localized corrosion below 1000 mV (SCE). DLC-silver-platinum films demonstrated exceptional antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus bacteria. It is believed that a galvanic couple forms between platinum and silver, which accelerates silver ion release and provides more robust antimicrobial activity. Diamondlike carbon-silver-platinum films may provide unique biological functionalities and improved lifetimes for cardiovascular, orthopaedic, biosensor, and implantable microelectromechanical systems.

  11. Magnetic, dielectric and magnetodielectric properties of PVDF-La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 polymer nanocomposite film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ch. Thirmal

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available We have investigated the structure, magnetic and dielectric properties of PVDF-La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 polymer nanocomposite thick film fabricated by dip coating technique along with the magnetodielectric effect. The structure and dielectric properties show the enhanced β phase in the composite compared to the PVDF film. The coupling between the ferroelectric and magnetic phases in the composite is revealed in the form of dielectric anomaly at the ferromagnetic Curie temperature. We observed 1.9% magnetodielectric effect at 300 K with the possibility of enhanced effect near the transition temperature. In addition, the analysis of the electric modulus indicates that the composite exhibits interfacial related relaxation and it follows Arrhenius Law. Our study suggests that the ac conductivity of the PVDF-La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 composite could be explained by correlated barrier hopping mechanism.

  12. Ferroelectric devices

    CERN Document Server

    Uchino, Kenji

    2009-01-01

    Updating its bestselling predecessor, Ferroelectric Devices, Second Edition assesses the last decade of developments-and setbacks-in the commercialization of ferroelectricity. Field pioneer and esteemed author Uchino provides insight into why this relatively nascent and interdisciplinary process has failed so far without a systematic accumulation of fundamental knowledge regarding materials and device development.Filling the informational void, this collection of information reviews state-of-the-art research and development trends reflecting nano and optical technologies, environmental regulat

  13. Experimental evidence of enhanced ferroelectricity in Ca doped BiFeO{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, L.V.; Deus, R.C. [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá, Av. Dr. Ariberto Pereira da Cunha, 333, Bairro Portal das Colinas, CEP 12516-410 Guaratinguetá, SP (Brazil); Foschini, C.R.; Longo, E. [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Faculdade de Engenharia de Bauru, Dept. de Eng. Mecânica, Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo C. Coube 14-01, 17033-360 Bauru, SP (Brazil); Cilense, M. [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Instituto de Química – Laboratório Interdisciplinar em Cerâmica (LIEC), Rua Professor Francisco Degni s/n, 14800-90 Araraquara, SP (Brazil); Simões, A.Z., E-mail: alezipo@yahoo.com [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá, Av. Dr. Ariberto Pereira da Cunha, 333, Bairro Portal das Colinas, CEP 12516-410 Guaratinguetá, SP (Brazil)

    2014-04-01

    Calcium (Ca)-doped bismuth ferrite (BiFeO{sub 3}) thin films prepared by using the polymeric precursor method (PPM) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), polarization and piezoelectric measurements. Structural studies by XRD and TEM reveal the co-existence of distorted rhombohedral and tetragonal phases in the highest doped BiFeO{sub 3} where enhanced ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties are produced by internal strain. Resistive switching is observed in BFO and Ca-doped BFO which are affected by the barrier contact and work function of multiferroic materials and Pt electrodes. A high coercive field in the hysteresis loop is observed for the BiFeO{sub 3} film. Piezoelectric properties are improved in the highest Ca-doped sample due to changes in the crystal structure of BFO for a primitive cubic perovskite lattice with four-fold symmetry and a large tetragonal distortion within the crystal domain. This observation introduces magnetoelectronics at room temperature by combining electronic conduction with electric and magnetic degrees of freedom which are already present in the multiferroic BiFeO{sub 3}. - Highlights: • Ca doped BiFeO{sub 3} thin films were obtained by the polymeric precursor method. • Co-existence of distorted rhombohedral and tetragonal phases are evident. • Enhanced ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties are produced by the internal strain in the Ca doped BiFeO{sub 3} film.

  14. Preparation and properties of carbohydrate-based composite films incorporated with CuO nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shankar, Shiv; Wang, Long-Feng; Rhim, Jong-Whan

    2017-08-01

    The present study aimed to develop the carbohydrate biopolymer based antimicrobial films for food packaging application. The nanocomposite films of various biopolymers and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) were prepared by solvent casting method. The nanocomposite films were characterized using SEM, FTIR, XRD, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The thermal stability, UV barrier, water vapor permeability, and antibacterial activity of the composite films were also evaluated. The surface morphology of the films was dependent on the types of polymers used. The XRD revealed the crystallinity of CuONPs in the composite films. The addition of CuONPs increased the thickness, tensile strength, UV barrier property, relative humidity, and water vapor barrier property. The CuONPs incorporated composite films exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The developed composite films could be used as a UV-light barrier antibacterial films for active food packaging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Development and characterisation of composite films made of kefiran and starch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motedayen, Ali Akbar; Khodaiyan, Faramarz; Salehi, Esmail Atai

    2013-02-15

    In this study, new edible composite films were prepared by blending kefiran with corn starch. Film-forming solutions of different ratios of kefiran to corn starch (100/0, 70/30, 50/50, 30/70) were cast at room temperature. The effects of starch addition on the resulting films' physical, mechanical and water-vapor permeability (WVP) properties were investigated. Increasing starch content from 0% to 50% (v/v) decreased the WVP of films; however, with further starch addition the WVP increased. Also, this increase in starch content increased the tensile strength and extensibility of the composite films. However, these mechanical properties decreased at higher starch contents. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) curves showed that addition of starch at all levels increased the glass transition temperature of films. The electron scanning micrograph for the composite film was homogeneous, without signs of phase separation between the components. Thus, it was observed that these two film-forming components were compatible, and that an interaction existed between them. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Structural Consequences of Ferroelectric Nanolithography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J Young Jo; P Chen; R Sichel; S Bake; R Smith; N Balke; S Kalinin; M Holt; J Maser; et al.

    2011-12-31

    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{sub 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.

  17. Growth of epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films by pulsed laser deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, J.; Safari, A.; Pfeffer, R. L.

    1992-10-01

    Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary have been grown on MgO (100) and Y1Ba2Cu3Ox (YBCO) coated MgO substrates. Substrate temperature and oxygen pressure were varied to achieve ferroelectric films with a perovskite structure. Films grown on MgO had the perovskite structure with an epitaxial relationship with the MgO substrate. On the other hand, films grown on the YBCO/MgO substrate had an oriented structure to the surface normal with a misorientation in the plane parallel to the surface. The measured dielectric constant and loss tangent at 1 kHz were 670 and 0.05, respectively. The remnant polarization and coercive field were 42 μC/cm2 and 53 kV/cm. A large internal bias field (12 kV/cm) was observed in the as-deposited state of the undoped PZT films.

  18. Three-dimensional microporous polypyrrole/polysulfone composite film electrode for supercapacitance performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Xiaojuan; Shi, Yanlong; Jin, Shuping

    2015-01-01

    The three-dimensional microporous polypyrrole/polysulfone (PPY/PSF) composite film was fabricated via a simple polymerization method. The morphology structure and chemical composition of the composite film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The electrochemical properties of the composite film electrode were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charging-discharging and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The material exhibits excellent capacitance performance including high capacitance of 500 F g"−"1 at 0.3 A g"−"1 current density, good cycle stability in 800 continuous cycles (only 4.5% decay after 800 cycles at 0.3 A g"−"1), and low inter resistance. The good property of the PPY/PSF electrode should be attributed to its structural features, including two-layer microporous structure which facilitates the penetration of electrolytes into the inner surface, high surface area which provides more active sites. These results show that the composite film is a promising candidate for high energy electrochemical capacitors.

  19. Three-dimensional microporous polypyrrole/polysulfone composite film electrode for supercapacitance performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng, Xiaojuan, E-mail: cherry-820@163.com; Shi, Yanlong; Jin, Shuping

    2015-10-30

    The three-dimensional microporous polypyrrole/polysulfone (PPY/PSF) composite film was fabricated via a simple polymerization method. The morphology structure and chemical composition of the composite film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The electrochemical properties of the composite film electrode were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charging-discharging and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The material exhibits excellent capacitance performance including high capacitance of 500 F g{sup −1} at 0.3 A g{sup −1} current density, good cycle stability in 800 continuous cycles (only 4.5% decay after 800 cycles at 0.3 A g{sup −1}), and low inter resistance. The good property of the PPY/PSF electrode should be attributed to its structural features, including two-layer microporous structure which facilitates the penetration of electrolytes into the inner surface, high surface area which provides more active sites. These results show that the composite film is a promising candidate for high energy electrochemical capacitors.

  20. Preparation and switching kinetics of Pb(Zr, Ti)O sub 3 thin films deposited by reactive sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hase, Takashi; Shiosaki, Tadashi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1991-09-01

    Ferroelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O{sub 3} (PZT) thin films have been prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si and Pt/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates using the reactive sputtering method with a metal composite target. The (111)-oriented PZT (80/20) thin films with a perovskite structure have been obtained at a substrate temperature of 595degC on highly (111)-oriented Pt films formed on SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates. When an 8 V pulse sequence was applied to a 265 nm-thick film with an electrode area of 50 x 50 {mu}m{sup 2}, the switching time and the switched charge density measured were 20 ns and 10 {mu}C/cm{sup 2}, respectively. The switching time was strongly dependent on the electrode area. (author).

  1. Mango kernel starch-gum composite films: Physical, mechanical and barrier properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawab, Anjum; Alam, Feroz; Haq, Muhammad Abdul; Lutfi, Zubala; Hasnain, Abid

    2017-05-01

    Composite films were developed by the casting method using mango kernel starch (MKS) and guar and xanthan gums. The concentration of both gums ranged from 0% to 30% (w/w of starch; db). Mechanical properties, oxygen permeability (OP), water vapor permeability (WVP), solubility in water and color parameters of composite films were evaluated. The crystallinity and homogeneity between the starch and gums were also evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The scanning electron micrographs showed homogeneous matrix, with no signs of phase separation between the components. XRD analysis demonstrated diminished crystalline peak. Regardless of gum type the tensile strength (TS) of composite films increased with increasing gum concentration while reverse trend was noted for elongation at break (EAB) which found to be decreased with increasing gum concentration. The addition of both guar and xanthan gums increased solubility and WVP of the composite films. However, the OP was found to be lower than that of the control with both gums. Furthermore, addition of both gums led to changes in transparency and opacity of MKS films. Films containing 10% (w/w) xanthan gum showed lower values for solubility, WVP and OP, while film containing 20% guar gum showed good mechanical properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Lanthanum titanium perovskite compound: Thin film deposition and high frequency dielectric characterization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Paven, C., E-mail: claire.lepaven@univ-rennes1.fr [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR, UMR-CNRS 6164), Equipe Matériaux Fonctionnels, IUT Saint Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22000 Saint Brieuc (France); Lu, Y. [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR, UMR-CNRS 6164), Equipe Matériaux Fonctionnels, IUT Saint Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22000 Saint Brieuc (France); Nguyen, H.V. [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR, UMR-CNRS 6164), Equipe Matériaux Fonctionnels, IUT Saint Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22000 Saint Brieuc (France); CEA LETI, Minatec Campus, 38054 Grenoble (France); Benzerga, R.; Le Gendre, L. [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR, UMR-CNRS 6164), Equipe Matériaux Fonctionnels, IUT Saint Brieuc, Université de Rennes 1, 22000 Saint Brieuc (France); Rioual, S. [Laboratoire de Magnétisme de Brest (EA CNRS 4522), Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 29000 Brest (France); Benzegoutta, D. [Institut des Nanosciences de Paris (INSP, UMR CNRS 7588), Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris (France); Tessier, F.; Cheviré, F. [Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (ISCR, UMR-CNRS 6226), Equipe Verres et Céramiques, Université de Rennes 1, 35000 Rennes (France); and others

    2014-02-28

    Perovskite lanthanum titanium oxide thin films were deposited on (001) MgO, (001) LaAlO{sub 3} and Pt(111)/TiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/(001)Si substrates by RF magnetron sputtering, using a La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} homemade target sputtered under oxygen reactive plasma. The films deposited at 800 °C display a crystalline growth different than those reported on monoclinic ferroelectric La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows the presence of titanium as Ti{sup 4+} ions, with no trace of Ti{sup 3+}, and provides a La/Ti ratio of 1.02. The depositions being performed from a La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} target under oxygen rich plasma, the same composition (La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}) is proposed for the deposited films, with an unusual orthorhombic cell and Cmc2{sub 1} space group. The films have a textured growth on MgO and Pt/Si substrates, and are epitaxially grown on LaAlO{sub 3} substrate. The dielectric characterization displays stable values of the dielectric constant and of the losses in the frequency range [0.1–20] GHz. No variation of the dielectric constant has been observed when a DC electric field up to 250 kV/cm was applied, which does not match a classical ferroelectric behavior at high frequencies and room temperature for the proposed La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} orthorhombic phase. At 10 GHz and room temperature, the dielectric constant of the obtained La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} films is ε ∼ 60 and the losses are low (tanδ < 0.02). - Highlights: • Lanthanum titanium oxide films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. • A La{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} chemical composition is proposed, with an unusual orthorhombic cell. • At 10 GHz, the dielectric losses are lower than 0.02. • No variation of the dielectric constant is observed under DC electric biasing.

  3. Preparation and properties of Starch-g-PLA/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yingmo; Wang, Qingling; Tang, Mingru

    2013-07-25

    Starch/lactic acid graft copolymer (Starch-g-PLA) was prepared by the in situ copolymerization of starch grafted with lactic acid catalyzed with sodium hydroxide, and then mixed with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to get composite films. The structures of the graft copolymer and composite films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties, water resistance, and thermal stability were also investigated. It was found that the compatibility of Starch-g-PLA and PVA was better than that of starch and PVA in the composite films. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the Starch-g-PLA/PVA composite film increased by 69.15% and 84.22%, respectively, while the water absorption decreased by 50.39%, which overcame the shortcomings of hydrophilicity and poor mechanical properties of Starch/PVA film. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) also showed that the thermal stability of Starch-g-PLA/PVA film was improved compared with Starch/PVA film. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline/activated carbon composites and preparation of conductive films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zengin, Huseyin; Kalayci, Guellue

    2010-01-01

    Polyaniline was synthesized via polyaniline/activated carbon (PANI/AC) composites by in situ polymerization and ex situ solution mixing. PANI and PANI/AC composite films were prepared by drop-by-drop and spin coating methods. The electrical conductivities of HCl doped PANI film and PANI/AC composite films were measured according to the standard four-point-probe technique. The composite films exhibited an increase in electrical conductivity over neat PANI. PANI and PANI/AC composites were investigated by spectroscopic methods including UV-vis, FTIR and photoluminescence. UV-vis and FTIR studies showed that AC particles affect the quinoid units along the polymer backbone and indicate strong interactions between AC particles and quinoidal sites of PANI. The photoluminescence properties of PANI and PANI/AC composites were studied and the photoluminescence intensity of PANI/AC composites was higher than that of neat PANI. The increase of conductivity of PANI/AC composites may be partially due to the doping or impurity effect of AC, where the AC competes with chloride ions. The amount of weight loss and the thermostability of PANI and PANI/AC composites were determined from thermogravimetric analysis. The morphology of particles and films were examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM measurements indicated that the AC particles were well dispersed and isolated in composite films.

  5. Ferroelectricity with Ferromagnetic Moment in Orthoferrites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokunaga, Yusuke

    2010-03-01

    Exotic multiferroics with gigantic magnetoelectric (ME) coupling have recently been attracting broad interests from the viewpoints of both fundamental physics and possible technological application to next-generation spintronic devices. To attain a strong ME coupling, it would be preferable that the ferroelectric order is induced by the magnetic order. Nevertheless, the magnetically induced ferroelectric state with the spontaneous ferromagnetic moment is still quite rare apart from a few conical-spin multiferroics. To further explore multiferroic materials with both the strong ME coupling and spontaneous magnetization, we focused on materials with magnetic structures other than conical structure. In this talk we present that the most orthodox perovskite ferrite systems DyFeO3 and GdFeO3 have ``ferromagnetic-ferroelectric,'' i.e., genuinely multiferroic states in which weak ferromagnetic moment is induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction working on Fe spins and electric polarization originates from the striction due to symmetric exchange interaction between Fe and Dy (Gd) spins [1] [2]. Both materials showed large electric polarization (>0.1 μC/cm^2) and strong ME coupling. In addition, we succeeded in mutual control of magnetization and polarization with electric- and magnetic-fields in GdFeO3, and attributed the controllability to novel, composite domain wall structure. [4pt] [1] Y. Tokunaga et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 097205 (2008). [0pt] [2] Y. Tokunaga et al., Nature Mater. 8, 558 (2009).

  6. Ferroelectric switching in epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3/ZnO/GaN heterostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Juan; Salev, Pavel; Grigoriev, Alexei

    As a wide-bandgap semiconductor, ZnO has gained substantial interest due to its favorable properties including high electron mobility, strong room-temperature luminescence, etc. The main obstacle of its application is the lack of reproducible and low-resistivity p-type ZnO. P-type doping of ZnO through the interface charge injection, which can be achieved by the polarization switching of ferroelectric films, is a tempting solution. We explored ferroelectric switching behavior of PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3/ZnO/GaN heterostructures epitaxially grown on Sapphire substrates by RF sputtering. The electrical measurements of Pt/PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3/ZnO/GaN ferroelectric-semiconductor capacitors revealed unusual behavior that is a combination of polarization switching and a diode I-V characteristics.

  7. Improved photovoltaic performance from inorganic perovskite oxide thin films with mixed crystal phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakrabartty, Joyprokash; Harnagea, Catalin; Celikin, Mert; Rosei, Federico; Nechache, Riad

    2018-05-01

    Inorganic ferroelectric perovskites are attracting attention for the realization of highly stable photovoltaic cells with large open-circuit voltages. However, the power conversion efficiencies of devices have been limited so far. Here, we report a power conversion efficiency of 4.20% under 1 sun illumination from Bi-Mn-O composite thin films with mixed BiMnO3 and BiMn2O5 crystal phases. We show that the photocurrent density and photovoltage mainly develop across grain boundaries and interfaces rather than within the grains. We also experimentally demonstrate that the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit photocurrent measured in the films are tunable by varying the electrical resistance of the device, which in turn is controlled by externally applying voltage pulses. The exploitation of multifunctional properties of composite oxides provides an alternative route towards achieving highly stable, high-efficiency photovoltaic solar energy conversion.

  8. Functional chitosan-based grapefruit seed extract composite films for applications in food packaging technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan, Y.M.; Lim, S.H.; Tay, B.Y.; Lee, M.W.; Thian, E.S.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Chitosan-based grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) films were solution casted. • GFSE was uniformly dispersed within all chitosan film matrices. • All chitosan-based composite films showed remarkable transparency. • Increasing amounts of GFSE incorporated increased the elongation at break of films. • Chitosan-based GFSE composite films inhibited the proliferation of fungal growth. - Abstract: Chitosan-based composite films with different amounts of grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% v/v) were fabricated via solution casting technique. Experimental results showed that GFSE was uniformly dispersed within all chitosan film matrices. The presence of GFSE made the films more amorphous and tensile strength decreased, while elongation at break values increased as GFSE content increased. Results from the measurement of light transmission revealed that increasing amounts of GFSE (from 0.5 to 1.5% v/v) did not affect transparency of the films. Furthermore, packaging of bread samples with chitosan-based GFSE composite films inhibited the proliferation of fungal growth as compared to control samples. Hence, chitosan-based GFSE composite films have the potential to be a useful material in the area of food technology

  9. Functional chitosan-based grapefruit seed extract composite films for applications in food packaging technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, Y.M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore); Lim, S.H.; Tay, B.Y. [Forming Technology Group, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (Singapore); Lee, M.W. [Food Innovation and Resource Centre, Singapore Polytechnic (Singapore); Thian, E.S., E-mail: mpetes@nus.edu.sg [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • Chitosan-based grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) films were solution casted. • GFSE was uniformly dispersed within all chitosan film matrices. • All chitosan-based composite films showed remarkable transparency. • Increasing amounts of GFSE incorporated increased the elongation at break of films. • Chitosan-based GFSE composite films inhibited the proliferation of fungal growth. - Abstract: Chitosan-based composite films with different amounts of grapefruit seed extract (GFSE) (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% v/v) were fabricated via solution casting technique. Experimental results showed that GFSE was uniformly dispersed within all chitosan film matrices. The presence of GFSE made the films more amorphous and tensile strength decreased, while elongation at break values increased as GFSE content increased. Results from the measurement of light transmission revealed that increasing amounts of GFSE (from 0.5 to 1.5% v/v) did not affect transparency of the films. Furthermore, packaging of bread samples with chitosan-based GFSE composite films inhibited the proliferation of fungal growth as compared to control samples. Hence, chitosan-based GFSE composite films have the potential to be a useful material in the area of food technology.

  10. Thermal dewetting behavior of polystyrene composite thin films with organic-modified inorganic nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubo, Masaki; Takahashi, Yosuke; Fujii, Takeshi; Liu, Yang; Sugioka, Ken-ichi; Tsukada, Takao; Minami, Kimitaka; Adschiri, Tadafumi

    2014-07-29

    The thermal dewetting of polystyrene composite thin films with oleic acid-modified CeO2 nanoparticles prepared by the supercritical hydrothermal synthesis method was investigated, varying the nanoparticle concentration (0-30 wt %), film thickness (approximately 50 and 100 nm), and surface energy of silanized silicon substrates on which the composite films were coated. The dewetting behavior of the composite thin films during thermal annealing was observed by an optical microscope. The presence of nanoparticles in the films affected the morphology of dewetting holes, and moreover suppressed the dewetting itself when the concentration was relatively high. It was revealed that there was a critical value of the surface energy of the substrate at which the dewetting occurred. In addition, the spatial distributions of nanoparticles in the composite thin films before thermal annealing were investigated using AFM and TEM. As a result, we found that most of nanoparticles segregated to the surface of the film, and that such distributions of nanoparticles contribute to the stabilization of the films, by calculating the interfacial potential of the films with nanoparticles.

  11. Structural contribution to the ferroelectric fatigue in lead zirconate titanate ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinterstein, M.; Rouquette, J.; Haines, J.; Papet, Ph.; Glaum, J.; Knapp, M.; Eckert, J.; Hoffman, M.

    2014-09-01

    Many ferroelectric devices are based on doped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics with compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), at which the relevant material's properties approach their maximum. Based on a synchrotron x-ray diffraction study of MPB PZT, bulk fatigue is unambiguously found to arise from a less effective field induced tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation, at which the degradation of the polarization flipping is detected by a less intense and more diffuse anomaly in the atomic displacement parameter of lead. The time dependence of the ferroelectric response on a structural level down to 250 μs confirms this interpretation in the time scale of the piezolectric strain response.

  12. Features of film growth during plasma anodizing of Al 2024/SiC metal matrix composite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xue Wenbin [Key Laboratory for Radiation Beam Technology and Materials Modification, Institute of Low Energy Nuclear Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)]. E-mail: xuewb@bnu.edu.cn

    2006-07-15

    Plasma anodizing is a novel promising process to fabricate corrosion-resistant protective films on metal matrix composites. The corrosion-resistant films were prepared by plasma anodizing on SiC reinforced aluminum matrix composite. The morphology and microstructure of films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Specifically, the morphology of residual SiC reinforcement particles in the film was observed. It is found that the most SiC reinforcement particles have been molten to become silicon oxide, but a few tiny SiC particles still remain in the film close to the composite/film interface. This interface is irregular due to the hindering effect of SiC particles on the film growth. Morphology and distribution of residual SiC particles in film provide direct evidence to identify the local melt occurs in the interior of plasma anodizing film even near the composite/film interface. A model of film growth by plasma anodizing on metal matrix composites was proposed.

  13. Features of film growth during plasma anodizing of Al 2024/SiC metal matrix composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xue Wenbin

    2006-01-01

    Plasma anodizing is a novel promising process to fabricate corrosion-resistant protective films on metal matrix composites. The corrosion-resistant films were prepared by plasma anodizing on SiC reinforced aluminum matrix composite. The morphology and microstructure of films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Specifically, the morphology of residual SiC reinforcement particles in the film was observed. It is found that the most SiC reinforcement particles have been molten to become silicon oxide, but a few tiny SiC particles still remain in the film close to the composite/film interface. This interface is irregular due to the hindering effect of SiC particles on the film growth. Morphology and distribution of residual SiC particles in film provide direct evidence to identify the local melt occurs in the interior of plasma anodizing film even near the composite/film interface. A model of film growth by plasma anodizing on metal matrix composites was proposed

  14. Fabrication of polypeptide-based piezoelectric composite polymer film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farrar, Dawnielle; West, James E.; Busch-Vishniac, Ilene J.; Yu, Seungju M.

    2008-01-01

    A new class of molecular composite piezoelectric material was produced by simultaneous poling and curing of a homogeneous solution comprising poly(γ-benzyl α,L-glutamate) and methylmethacrylate via corona discharge methods. This film exhibited high piezoelectricity (d 33 = 23 pC N -1 ), and its mechanical characteristics (modulus = 450 MPa) were similar to those of low molecular weight poly(methylmethacrylate). As it is produced via solution-based fabrication processes, the composite film is conducive to miniaturization for small sensors with integrated electronics, and could also potentially be used in piezoelectric coating applications

  15. All-polymer bistable resistive memory device based on nanoscale phase-separated PCBM-ferroelectric blends

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser

    2012-11-21

    All polymer nonvolatile bistable memory devices are fabricated from blends of ferroelectric poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)) and n-type semiconducting [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The nanoscale phase separated films consist of PCBM domains that extend from bottom to top electrode, surrounded by a ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) matrix. Highly conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) polymer electrodes are used to engineer band offsets at the interfaces. The devices display resistive switching behavior due to modulation of this injection barrier. With careful optimization of the solvent and processing conditions, it is possible to spin cast very smooth blend films (Rrms ≈ 7.94 nm) and with good reproducibility. The devices exhibit high Ion/I off ratios (≈3 × 103), low read voltages (≈5 V), excellent dielectric response at high frequencies (Ïμr ≈ 8.3 at 1 MHz), and excellent retention characteristics up to 10 000 s. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Thickness dependence of electrical properties in (0 0 1) oriented lead zirconate titanate films by laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, T.J.; Lu, L.; Lai, M.O.; Soh, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Highly (0 0 1)-oriented Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) thin films with LaNiO 3 (LNO) bottom electrodes have been fabricated on amorphous TiN buffered Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis of the deposited PZT films with different thickness ranging from 25 to 850 nm was measured. Results showed that the coercive field increases with the film thickness scaling down. No P-E loops could be obtained for the film of thickness of 25 nm. The deterioration of ferroelectric property in the thinnest film was attributed to extrinsic effect other than intrinsic size effect. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics measurement showed the increase in leakage current of the PZT films with the decrease in the thickness of the films under the same bias voltage. At a high field regime, the leakage current of the PZT films of 25 nm thickness remained unchanged with increasing applied voltage. A totally depleted back-to-back Shottky barrier model was used to explain the effect of electrode interfaces on leakage current in the PZT films. It is believed that ferroelectric/electrode interfaces play an important role in the electrical properties of ferroelectric thin films with thickness at nanometer level

  17. Microstructure and phase composition of sputter-deposited zirconia-yttria films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoll, R.W.; Bradley, E.R.

    1983-11-01

    Thin ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 coatings ranging in composition from 3 to 15 mole % Y 2 O 3 were produced by rf sputter deposition. This composition range spanned the region on the equilibrium ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 phase diagram corresponding to partially stabilized zirconia (a mixture of tetragonal ZrO 2 and cubic solid solution). Microstructural characteristics and crystalline phase composition of as-deposited and heat treated films (1100 0 C and 1500 0 C) were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Effects of substrate bias (0 approx. 250 volts), which induced ion bombardment of the film during growth, were also studied. The as-deposited ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 films were single phase over the composition range studied, and XRD data indicated considerable local atomic disorder in the lattice. Films produced at low bias contained intergranular voids, pronounced columnar growth, and porosity between columns. At high bias, the microstructure was denser, and films contained high compressive stress. After heat treatment, all deposits remained single phase, therefore a microstructure and precipitate distribution characteristic of toughened, partially stabilized zirconia appear to be difficult to achieve in vapor deposited zirconia coatings

  18. Uniformly-dispersed nanohydroxapatite-reinforced poly(ε-caprolactone) composite films for tendon tissue engineering application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tong, Shi Yun [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117 576 (Singapore); Wang, Zuyong, E-mail: zuyong.nus@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117 576 (Singapore); Lim, Poon Nian [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117 576 (Singapore); Wang, Wilson [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119 074 (Singapore); Thian, Eng San, E-mail: mpetes@nus.edu.sg [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117 576 (Singapore)

    2017-01-01

    Regeneration of injuries at tendon-to-bone interface (TBI) remains a challenging issue due to the complex tissue composition involving both soft tendon tissues and relatively hard bone tissues. Tissue engineering using polymeric/ceramic composites has been of great interest to generate scaffolds for tissue's healing at TBI. Herein, we presented a novel method to blend polymers and bioceramics for tendon tissue engineering application. A homogeneous composite comprising of nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) particles in poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix was obtained using a combination of solvent and mechanical blending process. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the as-fabricated PCL/nHA composite film retained phase-pure apatite and semi-crystalline properties of PCL. Infrared spectroscopy spectra confirmed that the PCL/nHA composite film exhibited the characteristics functional groups of PCL and nHA, without alteration to the chemical properties of the composite. The incorporation of nHA resulted in PCL/nHA composite film with improved mechanical properties such as Young's Modulus and ultimate tensile stress, which were comparable to that of the native human rotator tendon. Seeding with human tenocytes, cells attached on the PCL/nHA composite film, and after 14 days of culturing, these cells could acquire elongated morphology without induced cytotoxicity. PCL/nHA composite film could also result in increased cell metabolism with prolonged culturing, which was comparable to that of the PCL group and higher than that of the nHA group. All these results demonstrated that the developed technique of combining solvent and mechanical blending could be applied to fabricate composite films with potential for tendon tissue engineering applications. - Highlights: • A novel method fabricating polymeric/nanoceramic composite film was proposed. • The method involved solvent and mechanical blending to form a homogeneous film. • The film retained physicochemical

  19. Highly constrained ferroelectric [BaTiO3](1−x)Λ/[BaZrO3]xΛ superlattices: X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belhadi, J.; El Marssi, M.; Gagou, Y.; El Mendili, Y.; Bouyanfif, H.; Yuzyuk, Yu. I.; Raevski, I. P.; Wolfman, J.

    2014-01-01

    We report an x-ray diffraction (XRD) and a Raman-scattering investigation of ferroelectric/paraelectric superlattices [BaTiO 3 ] (1−x)Λ /[BaZrO 3 ] xΛ for which the composition varied, 0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.85, while the superlattice (SL) modulation period Λ was kept constant at about 100 Å. The samples were epitaxially grown by pulsed laser deposition on MgO substrates buffered with La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 . Based on the XRD analysis and on polarized Raman spectra, we have showed that the large strain in SLs induced ferroelectricity in BaZrO 3 (BZ) for all SLs, a material that is paraelectric in the bulk form at any temperature and in the single film. The induced polar axis in BZ layers is perpendicular to the plane of substrate while BaTiO 3 (BT) layers exhibit in-plane polar orientation. Raman spectroscopy revealed a lattice ordering in SLs due to the misfit strain generated by the large lattice mismatch between the alternating BZ and BT layers. This strain induced a huge upward frequency of the lowest E(1TO) soft mode from 60 cm −1 in the BT single film to 215 cm −1 in the SL with x = 0.85. These results show that in spite of relatively large periodicity of SLs, they are highly constrained and the variation of BZ ratio allowed modifying strains between layers. The temperature dependence of the Raman spectra for BT 0.3Λ /BZ 0.7Λ and BT 0.7Λ /BZ 0.3Λ samples revealed giant shift of the ferroelectric phase transition. The phase transition temperature was found to be upshifted by about 300 °C with respect to BT single crystal.

  20. Strong composite films with layered structures prepared by casting silk fibroin-graphene oxide hydrogels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Liang; Li, Chun; Yuan, Wenjing; Shi, Gaoquan

    2013-04-01

    Composite films of graphene oxide (GO) sheets and silk fibroin (SF) with layered structures have been prepared by facile solution casting of SF-GO hydrogels. The as-prepared composite film containing 15% (by weight, wt%) of SF shows a high tensile strength of 221 +/- 16 MPa and a failure strain of 1.8 +/- 0.4%, which partially surpass those of natural nacre. Particularly, this composite film also has a high modulus of 17.2 +/- 1.9 GPa. The high mechanical properties of this composite film can be attributed to its high content of GO (85 wt%), compact layered structure and the strong hydrogen bonding interaction between SF chains and GO sheets.Composite films of graphene oxide (GO) sheets and silk fibroin (SF) with layered structures have been prepared by facile solution casting of SF-GO hydrogels. The as-prepared composite film containing 15% (by weight, wt%) of SF shows a high tensile strength of 221 +/- 16 MPa and a failure strain of 1.8 +/- 0.4%, which partially surpass those of natural nacre. Particularly, this composite film also has a high modulus of 17.2 +/- 1.9 GPa. The high mechanical properties of this composite film can be attributed to its high content of GO (85 wt%), compact layered structure and the strong hydrogen bonding interaction between SF chains and GO sheets. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: XPS spectrum of the SF-GO hybrid film, SEM images of lyophilized GO dispersion and the failure surface of GO film. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr00196b

  1. Model of two-dimensional electron gas formation at ferroelectric interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguado-Puente, P.; Bristowe, N. C.; Yin, B.; Shirasawa, R.; Ghosez, Philippe; Littlewood, P. B.; Artacho, Emilio

    2015-07-01

    The formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at oxide interfaces as a consequence of polar discontinuities has generated an enormous amount of activity due to the variety of interesting effects it gives rise to. Here, we study under what circumstances similar processes can also take place underneath ferroelectric thin films. We use a simple Landau model to demonstrate that in the absence of extrinsic screening mechanisms, a monodomain phase can be stabilized in ferroelectric films by means of an electronic reconstruction. Unlike in the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructure, the emergence with thickness of the free charge at the interface is discontinuous. This prediction is confirmed by performing first-principles simulations of free-standing slabs of PbTiO3. The model is also used to predict the response of the system to an applied electric field, demonstrating that the two-dimensional electron gas can be switched on and off discontinuously and in a nonvolatile fashion. Furthermore, the reversal of the polarization can be used to switch between a two-dimensional electron gas and a two-dimensional hole gas, which should, in principle, have very different transport properties. We discuss the possible formation of polarization domains and how such configuration competes with the spontaneous accumulation of free charge at the interfaces.

  2. Polymer compositions, polymer films and methods and precursors for forming same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaehn, John R; Peterson, Eric S; Orme, Christopher J

    2013-09-24

    Stable, high performance polymer compositions including polybenzimidazole (PBI) and a melamine-formaldehyde polymer, such as methylated, poly(melamine-co-formaldehyde), for forming structures such as films, fibers and bulky structures. The polymer compositions may be formed by combining polybenzimidazole with the melamine-formaldehyde polymer to form a precursor. The polybenzimidazole may be reacted and/or intertwined with the melamine-formaldehyde polymer to form the polymer composition. For example, a stable, free-standing film having a thickness of, for example, between about 5 .mu.m and about 30 .mu.m may be formed from the polymer composition. Such films may be used as gas separation membranes and may be submerged into water for extended periods without crazing and cracking. The polymer composition may also be used as a coating on substrates, such as metal and ceramics, or may be used for spinning fibers. Precursors for forming such polymer compositions are also disclosed.

  3. Ferroelectric Negative Capacitance Domain Dynamics

    OpenAIRE

    Hoffmann, Michael; Khan, Asif Islam; Serrao, Claudy; Lu, Zhongyuan; Salahuddin, Sayeef; Pešić, Milan; Slesazeck, Stefan; Schroeder, Uwe; Mikolajick, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Transient negative capacitance effects in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr$_{0.2}$Ti$_{0.8}$)O$_3$ capacitors are investigated with a focus on the dynamical switching behavior governed by domain nucleation and growth. Voltage pulses are applied to a series connection of the ferroelectric capacitor and a resistor to directly measure the ferroelectric negative capacitance during switching. A time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach is used to investigate the underlying domain dynamics. The transien...

  4. Composition changes in sputter deposition of Y-Ba-Cu-O films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoshi, Y.; Naoe, M.

    1989-01-01

    The authors discuss the mechanism of the composition change in sputter deposition of Y-BA-Cu-O film from YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-chi target investigated by means of a rf planar magnetron sputtering apparatus. Film composition changes significantly with not only substrate temperature Ts and sputtering gas pressure, but also substrate position. Lack of Cu and Ba content is significant in the film deposited at the substrate position just above the erosion area of the sputtering target. Suppression of bombardment of the substrate surface by negative ions emitted from the target and substrate is effective in increasing Cu and Ba content in the film. These results indicate not only that the sticking probability of the sputtered particles changes with Ts and incident particle energy, but also that high energy particle bombardment of the substrate surface plays an important role in the change of the film composition

  5. Electrochemical deposition of Mg(OH)2/GO composite films for corrosion protection of magnesium alloys

    OpenAIRE

    Fengxia Wu; Jun Liang; Weixue Li

    2015-01-01

    Mg(OH)2/graphene oxide (GO) composite film was electrochemical deposited on AZ91D magnesium alloys at constant potential. The characteristics of the Mg(OH)2/GO composite film were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. It was shown that the flaky GO randomly distributed in the composite film. Compared with the Mg(OH)2 film, the Mg(OH)2/GO composite film exhibited more uniform and compac...

  6. Transport and Fatigue Properties of Ferroelectric Polymer P(VDF-TrFE) For Nonvolatile Memory Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Hanna, Amir

    2012-06-01

    Organic ferroelectrics polymers have recently received much interest for use in nonvolatile memory devices. The ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride- trifluoroethylene) , P(VDF-TrFE), is a promising candidate due to its relatively high remnant polarization, low coercive field, fast switching times, easy processability, and low Curie transition. However, no detailed study of charge injection and current transport properties in P(VDF-TrFE) have been reported in the literature yet. Charge injection and transport are believed to affect various properties of ferroelectric films such as remnant polarization values and polarization fatigue behavior.. Thus, this thesis aims to study charge injection in P(VDF-TrFE) and its transport properties as a function of electrode material. Injection was studied for Al, Ag, Au and Pt electrodes. Higher work function metals such as Pt have shown less leakage current compared to lower work function metals such as Al for more than an order of magnitude. That implied n-type conduction behavior for P(VDF-TrFE), as well as electrons being the dominant injected carrier type. Charge transport was also studied as a function of temperature, and two major transport regimes were identified: 1) Thermionic emission over a Schottky barrier for low fields (E < 25 MV/m). 2) Space-Charge-Limited regime at higher fields (25 < E <120 MV/m). We have also studied the optical imprint phenomenon, the polarization fatigue resulting from a combination of broad band optical illumination and DC bias near the switching field. A setup was designed for the experiment, and validated by reproducing the reported effect in polycrystalline Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 , PZT, film. On the other hand, P(VDF-TrFE) film showed no polarization fatigue as a result of optical imprint test, which could be attributed to the large band gap of the material, and the low intensity of the UV portion of the arc lamp white light used for the experiment. Results suggest using high work

  7. Effects of annealing schedule on orientation of Bi3.2Nd0.8Ti3O12 ferroelectric film prepared by chemical solution deposition process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, H.Y.; Huang, J.F.; Cao, L.Y.; Wang, L.S.

    2006-01-01

    Fatigue-free Bi 3.2 Nd 0.8 Ti 3 O 12 ferroelectric thin films were successfully prepared on p-Si(1 1 1) substrate using chemical solution deposition process. The orientation and formation of thin film under different annealing schedules were studied. XRD analysis indicated that (2 0 0)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (200) /I (117) = 2.097 and 0.466 were obtained by preannealing for 10 min at 400 deg. C followed by rapid thermal annealing for 3, 10 and 20 min at 700 deg. C, respectively (0 0 8)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (008) /I (117) = 1.706 were obtained by rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C without preannealing, and (0 0 8)-oriented films with degree of orientation of I (008) /I (117) = 0.719 were obtained by preheating the film from room temperature at 20 deg. C/min followed by annealing for 10 min at 700 deg. C. The a-axis and c-axis orientation decreased as increase of annealing time due to effects of (1 1 1)-oriented substrate. AFM analysis further indicated that preannealing at 400 deg. C for 10 min followed by rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C resulted in formation of platelike crystallite parallel to substrate surface, however rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 700 deg. C without preannealing resulted in columnar crystallite perpendicular to substrate surface

  8. Crystallization and electrical characteristics of ferroelectric Bi{sub 3.15}Nd{sub 0.85}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} thin films prepared by a sol-gel process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiao, Y. [Department of Physics, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056 (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062 (China); Lu, C.J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062 (China); Laboratory of Fiber Materials and Modern Textile, the Growing Base for State Key Laboratory, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071 (China)], E-mail: chaojing_lu@yahoo.com; Qi, Y.J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062 (China); Zhou, Y.H. [Department of Physics, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056 (China)

    2008-07-01

    Ferroelectric Bi{sub 3.15}Nd{sub 0.85}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} (BNdT) thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates using a sol-gel process and Bi(NO{sub 3}){sub 3} was used as one of starting materials. Upon heating the major weight loss of the wet films occurred below 320 deg. C and nitrogen was almost completely removed at 650 deg. C. The films began to crystallize around 520 deg. C. The films annealed at 750 deg. C contain grains of 50-100 nm in diameter. The BNdT film capacitors with Pt top electrodes exhibited well-saturated hysteresis loops with a remanent polarization (2P{sub r}) of 57.4 {mu}C/cm{sup 2} and a coercive field of 108.3 kV/cm. The Pt/BNdT/Pt capacitors did not show any significant fatigue up to 6x10{sup 10} read/write switching cycles, and the retained charges remained nearly constant up to 10{sup 4} s after applying a writing pulse. The leakage current density of the BNdT films is less than 5x10{sup -8} A/cm{sup 2} under a low external field below 73 kV/cm.

  9. Aligned Carbon Nanotubes for High-Performance Films and Composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Liwen

    Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with extraordinary properties and thus many potential applications have been predicted to be the best reinforcements for the next-generation multifunctional composite materials. Difficulties exist in transferring the most use of the unprecedented properties of individual CNTs to macroscopic forms of CNT assemblies. Therefore, this thesis focuses on two main goals: 1) discussing the issues that influence the performance of bulk CNT products, and 2) fabricating high-performance dry CNT films and composite films with an understanding of the fundamental structure-property relationship in these materials. Dry CNT films were fabricated by a winding process using CNT arrays with heights of 230 mum, 300 im and 360 mum. The structures of the as-produced films, as well as their mechanical and electrical properties were examined in order to find out the effects of different CNT lengths. It was found that the shorter CNTs synthesized by shorter time in the CVD furnace exhibited less structural defects and amorphous carbon, resulting in more compact packing and better nanotube alignment when made into dry films, thus, having better mechanical and electrical performance. A novel microcombing approach was developed to mitigate the CNT waviness and alignment in the dry films, and ultrahigh mechanical properties and exceptional electrical performance were obtained. This method utilized a pair of sharp surgical blades with microsized features at the blade edges as micro-combs to, for the first time, disentangle and straighten the wavy CNTs in the dry-drawn CNT sheet at single-layer level. The as-combed CNT sheet exhibited high level of nanotube alignment and straightness, reduced structural defects, and enhanced nanotube packing density. The dry CNT films produced by microcombing had a very high Young's modulus of 172 GPa, excellent tensile strength of 3.2 GPa, and unprecedented electrical conductivity of 1.8x10 5 S/m, which were records for CNT films or

  10. The effect of Nb doping on ferroelectric properties of PZT thin films prepared from polymeric precursors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souza, E.C.F.; Simoes, A.Z.; Cilense, M.; Longo, E.; Varela, J.A.

    2004-01-01

    Pure and Nb doped PbZr 0.4 Ti 0.6 O 3 thin films was prepared by the polymeric precursor method and deposited by spin coating on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si (100) substrates and annealed at 700 deg. C. The films are oriented in (1 1 0) and (1 0 0) direction. The electric properties of PZT thin films show strong dependence of the crystallographic orientation. The P-E hysteresis loops for the thin film with composition PbZr 0.39 Ti 0.6 Nb 0.1 O 3 showed good saturation, with values for coercive field (E c ) equal to 60 KV cm -1 and for remanent polarization (P r ) equal to 20 μC cm -2 . The measured dielectric constant (ε) is 1084 for this film. These results show good potential for application in FERAM

  11. Investigation of polypyrrole/polyvinyl alcohol–titanium dioxide composite films for photo-catalytic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cao, Shaoqiang; Zhang, Hongyang; Song, Yuanqing; Zhang, Jianling; Yang, Haigang; Jiang, Long, E-mail: jianglong@scu.edu.cn; Dan, Yi, E-mail: danyichenweiwei@163.com

    2015-07-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The study provides an easy and convenient method to fabricate films, which will give guidance for the preparation of three-dimensional materials. • The PPy/PVA–TiO{sub 2} films can keep better photo-catalytic activities both under UV and visible light irradiation when compared with TiO{sub 2} film. • There exist electron transfers between PPy/PVA and TiO{sub 2}. - Abstract: Polypyrrole/polyvinyl alcohol–titanium dioxide (PPy/PVA–TiO{sub 2}) composite films used as photo-catalysts were fabricated by combining TiO{sub 2} sol with PPy/PVA solution in which PPy was synthesized by in situ polymerization of pyrrole (Py) in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix and loaded on glass. The prepared photo-catalysts were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and photoluminescence (PL). The results indicate that the composites have same crystal structure as the TiO{sub 2} and extend the optic absorption from UV region to visible light region. By detecting the variation ratio, detected by ultraviolet–vis spectroscopy, of model pollutant rhodamine B (RhB) solution in the presence of the composite films under both UV and visible light irradiation, the photo-catalytic performance of the composite films was investigated. The results show that the PPy/PVA–TiO{sub 2} composite films show better photo-catalytic properties than TiO{sub 2} film both under UV and visible light irradiation, and the photo-catalytic degradation of RhB follows the first-order kinetics. The effects of the composition of composite films and the concentration of RhB on the photo-catalytic performance, as well as the possible photo-catalytic mechanism, were also discussed. By photo-catalytic recycle experiments, the structure stability of the PPy/PVA–TiO{sub 2} composite film was investigated and the results show that

  12. Piezoelectric MEMS: Ferroelectric thin films for MEMS applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanno, Isaku

    2018-04-01

    In recent years, piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have attracted attention as next-generation functional microdevices. Typical applications of piezoelectric MEMS are micropumps for inkjet heads or micro-gyrosensors, which are composed of piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films and have already been commercialized. In addition, piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs), which are regarded as one of the key devices for Internet of Things (IoT)-related technologies, are promising future applications of piezoelectric MEMS. Significant features of piezoelectric MEMS are their simple structure and high energy conversion efficiency between mechanical and electrical domains even on the microscale. The device performance strongly depends on the function of the piezoelectric thin films, especially on their transverse piezoelectric properties, indicating that the deposition of high-quality piezoelectric thin films is a crucial technology for piezoelectric MEMS. On the other hand, although the difficulty in measuring the precise piezoelectric coefficients of thin films is a serious obstacle in the research and development of piezoelectric thin films, a simple unimorph cantilever measurement method has been proposed to obtain precise values of the direct or converse transverse piezoelectric coefficient of thin films, and recently this method has become to be the standardized testing method. In this article, I will introduce fundamental technologies of piezoelectric thin films and related microdevices, especially focusing on the deposition of PZT thin films and evaluation methods for their transverse piezoelectric properties.

  13. Bending-Induced Giant Polarization in Ferroelectric MEMS Diaphragm

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhihong

    2016-09-09

    The polarization induced by the strain gradient, i.e. the flexoelectric effect, has been observed in a micromachined Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) diaphragms. Applying air pressure to bend a flat diaphragm which initially does not exhibit any electromechanical coupling can induce a resonance peak in its impedance spectrum. This result supposes that bending, thus the strain gradient in the diaphragm causes polarization in PZT film. We also investigated the switching behaviors of the polarization in response to an external electric field in a bent diaphragm and further quantified the polarization induced by the strain gradient. The effective flexoelectric coefficient of the PZT film has been calculated as large as 2.0 × 10−4 C/m. A giant flexoelectric polarization of the order of 1 μC/cm2 was characterized which is of the same order of magnitude as the normal remnant ferroelectric polarization of PZT film. The suggested explanation for the giant polarization is the large strain gradient in the diaphragm and the strain gradient induced reorientation of the polar nanodomains.

  14. Enhanced luminescence properties of hybrid Alq{sub 3}/ZnO (organic/inorganic) composite films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuba, M.; Muralidharan, G., E-mail: muraligru@gmail.com

    2014-12-15

    Pristine tris-(8-hydroxyquionoline)aluminum(Alq{sub 3}) and (Alq{sub 3}/ZnO hybrid) composites containing different weight percentages (5 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%, 40 wt% and 50 wt%) of ZnO in Alq{sub 3} were synthesized and coated on to a glass substrate using the dip coating method. The optimum concentration of ZnO in Alq{sub 3} films to get the best luminescence yield has been identified. XRD pattern reveals the amorphous nature of pure Alq{sub 3} film. The Alq{sub 3} films containing different weight percentages of ZnO show the presence of crystalline ZnO in Alq{sub 3}/ZnO composite films. The FTIR spectrum confirms the formation of quinoline with absorption in the region 600−800 cm{sup −1}. The hybrid Alq{sub 3}/ZnO composite films indicate the presence of Zn−O vibration band along with the corresponding Alq{sub 3} band. The band gap (HOMO–LUMO) of Alq{sub 3} film was calculated using absorption spectra and it is 2.87 eV for pristine films while it is 3.26 eV, 3.21 eV, 3.14 eV, 3.10 eV, 3.13 eV and 3.20 eV for the composite films containing 5–50 wt% of ZnO. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Alq{sub 3} films show a maximum PL intensity at 514 nm when excited at 390 nm. The ZnO incorporated composite films (Alq{sub 3}/ZnO) exhibit an emission in 485 nm and 514 nm. The composite films containing 30 wt% of ZnO exhibit maximum luminescence yield. - Highlights: • The pure Alq{sub 3} and Alq{sub 3}/ZnO composite were synthesized and coated on to a glass substrate using dip coating method. • Alq{sub 3}/ZnO composite film containing 30 wt% of ZnO exhibits two fold increases in luminescence intensity. • The shielding effect of ZnO on the Alq{sub 3} material suppresses the interactions among the host molecules in the excited state. • This leads to enhance the luminescence intensity in composite films.

  15. Composite film fabricated on biomedical material with corona streamer plasma processing to mitigate bacterial adhesion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alhamarneh, Ibrahim; Pedrow, Patrick; Eskhan, Asma; Abu-Lail, Nehal

    2011-10-01

    Composite films might control bacterial adhesion and concomitant biofouling that afflicts biomedical materials. Different size molecules of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with nominal molecular weights 600, 2000, and 20000 g/mol were used to synthesize composite films with plasma processing and dip-coating procedures on surgical-grade 316L stainless steel. Before dip-coating, the substrate was pre-coated with plasma-polymerized di(ethylene glycol) vinyl ether (pp-EO2V) in an atmospheric pressure corona streamer plasma reactor. The PEG dip-coating step followed immediately in the same chamber due to the finite lifetime of radicals associated with freshly deposited pp-EO2V. Morphology of the composite film was investigated with an ESEM. FTIR confirmed incorporation of pp-EO2V and PEG species into the composite film. More investigations on the composite film were conducted by XPS measurements. Adhesion of the composite film was evaluated with a standard peel-off test. Stability of the composite film in buffer solution was evaluated by AFM. AFM was also used to measure the film roughness and thickness. Polar and non-polar contact angle measurements were included.

  16. Synthesis, nanostructure and magnetic properties of FeCo-reduced graphene oxide composite films by one-step electrodeposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Derang; Li, Hao; Wang, Zhenkun; Wei, Jinwu; Wang, Jianbo; Liu, Qingfang

    2015-01-01

    FeCo-reduced graphene oxide (FeCo-RGO) composite film was fabricated on indium tin oxide substrate using one-step electrodeposition method. Raman spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscope results show that the reduced graphene oxide is coprecipitated with the FeCo film. The energy-dispersive spectrometer results demonstrate that the atomic ratio of Fe/Co in FeCo-RGO composite film is larger than that of the FeCo film under the same fabrication condition. As a result, the FeCo-RGO composite film exhibits good soft magnetic properties and high-frequency properties as well as the FeCo film. The magnetic anisotropy field and saturation magnetization of FeCo-RGO composite film are increased when compared with FeCo film. Furthermore, the ferromagnetic resonance frequency is improved from 2.15 GHz for the FeCo film to 3.9 GHz for the FeCo-RGO composite film. - Highlights: • FeCo-reduced graphene oxide composite film was fabricated on indium tin oxide substrate. • One step electrodeposition method was used. • Good soft magnetic properties were exhibited by the composite films. • Increase of resonance frequency from 2.15 GHz for FeCo film to 3.9 GHz for composite film

  17. Preparation of Surlyn films reinforced with cellulose nanofibres and feasibility of applying the transparent composite films for organic photovoltaic encapsulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lertngim, Anantaya; Phiriyawirut, Manisara; Wootthikanokkhan, Jatuphorn; Yuwawech, Kitti; Sangkhun, Weradesh; Kumnorkaew, Pisist; Muangnapoh, Tanyakorn

    2017-10-01

    This research concerns the development of Surlyn film reinforced with micro-/nanofibrillated celluloses (MFC) for use as an encapsulant in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of fibre types and the mixing methods on the structure-properties of the composite films. Three types of cellulose micro/nanofibrils were prepared: the as-received MFC, the dispersed MFC and the esterified MFC. The fibres were mixed with Surlyn via an extrusion process, using two different mixing methods. It was found that the extent of fibre disintegration and tensile modulus of the composite films prepared by the master-batching process was superior to that of the composite system prepared by the direct mixing method. Using the esterified MFC as a reinforcement, compatibility between polymer and the fibre increased, accompanied with the improvement of the percentage elongation of the Surlyn composite film. The percentage of light transmittance of the Surlyn/MFC films was above 88, regardless of the fibre types and fibre concentrations. The water vapour transmission rate of the Surlyn/esterified MFC film was 65% lower than that of the neat Surlyn film. This contributed to the longer lifetime of the OPV encapsulated with the Surlyn/esterified MFC film.

  18. Nonlinear Analysis of Actuation Performance of Shape Memory Alloy Composite Film Based on Silicon Substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuangshuang Sun

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The mechanical model of the shape memory alloy (SMA composite film with silicon (Si substrate was established by the method of mechanics of composite materials. The coupled action between the SMA film and Si substrate under thermal loads was analyzed by combining static equilibrium equations, geometric equations, and physical equations. The material nonlinearity of SMA and the geometric nonlinearity of bending deformation were both considered. By simulating and analyzing the actuation performance of the SMA composite film during one cooling-heating thermal cycle, it is found that the final cooling temperature, boundary condition, and the thickness of SMA film have significant effects on the actuation performance of the SMA composite film. Besides, the maximum deflection of the SMA composite film is affected obviously by the geometric nonlinearity of bending deformation when the thickness of SMA film is very large.

  19. Electrochemical deposition of Mg(OH2/GO composite films for corrosion protection of magnesium alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengxia Wu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Mg(OH2/graphene oxide (GO composite film was electrochemical deposited on AZ91D magnesium alloys at constant potential. The characteristics of the Mg(OH2/GO composite film were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS, X-ray diffractometer (XRD and Raman spectroscopy. It was shown that the flaky GO randomly distributed in the composite film. Compared with the Mg(OH2 film, the Mg(OH2/GO composite film exhibited more uniform and compact structure. Potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the Mg(OH2/GO composite film could significantly improve the corrosion resistance of Mg(OH2 film with an obvious positive shift of corrosion potential by 0.19 V and a dramatic reduction of corrosion current density by more than one order of magnitude.

  20. High Frequency Magneto Dielectric Effects In Self Assembled Ferrite Ferroelectric Core Shell Nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-10

    ferrimagnetic metals, alloys or oxides and ferroelectrics such as barium titanate (BTO), lead zirconate titanate ( PZT ), and lead magnesium niobate-lead...estimate the magneto-capacitance effect in BTO or PZT films on substrates of ferromagnetic alloys.25 This work is on the observation and theory of MDE...transmission and reflection coefficients were done to estimate the complex permittivity. During the measurements a bias static magnetic field was

  1. Nonvolatile ferroelectric memory based on PbTiO3 gated single-layer MoS2 field-effect transistor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Hyun Wook; Son, Jong Yeog

    2018-01-01

    We fabricated ferroelectric non-volatile random access memory (FeRAM) based on a field effect transistor (FET) consisting of a monolayer MoS2 channel and a ferroelectric PbTiO3 (PTO) thin film of gate insulator. An epitaxial PTO thin film was deposited on a Nb-doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrate via pulsed laser deposition. A monolayer MoS2 sheet was exfoliated from a bulk crystal and transferred to the surface of the PTO/Nb:STO. Structural and surface properties of the PTO thin film were characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Raman spectroscopy analysis was performed to identify the single-layer MoS2 sheet on the PTO/Nb:STO. We obtained mobility value (327 cm2/V·s) of the MoS2 channel at room temperature. The MoS2-PTO FeRAM FET showed a wide memory window with 17 kΩ of resistance variation which was attributed to high remnant polarization of the epitaxially grown PTO thin film. According to the fatigue resistance test for the FeRAM FET, however, the resistance states gradually varied during the switching cycles of 109. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  2. Absence of low temperature phase transitions and enhancement of ferroelectric transition temperature in highly strained BaTiO{sub 3} epitaxial films grown on MgO Substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Satish; Kumar, Dhirendra; Sathe, V. G., E-mail: vasant@csr.res.in [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, University Campus, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Kumar, Ravi; Sharma, T. K. [Semiconductor Physics and Devices Lab, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore 452013 (India)

    2015-04-07

    Recently, a large enhancement in the ferroelectric transition temperature of several oxides is reported by growing the respective thin films on appropriate substrates. This phenomenon is correlated with high residual strain in thin films often leading to large increase in the tetragonality of their crystal structure. However, such an enhancement of transition temperature is usually limited to very thin films of ∼10 nm thickness. Here, we report growth of fully strained epitaxial thin films of BaTiO{sub 3} of 400 nm thickness, which are coherently grown on MgO substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. Conventional high resolution x-ray diffraction and also the reciprocal space map measurements confirm that the film is fully strained with in-plane tensile strain of 5.5% that dramatically increases the tetragonality to 1.05. Raman measurements reveal that the tetragonal to cubic structural phase transition is observed at 583 K, which results in an enhancement of ∼200 K. Furthermore, temperature dependent Raman studies on these films corroborate absence of all the low temperature phase transitions. Numerical calculations based on thermodynamical model predict a value of the transition temperature that is greater than 1500 °C. Our experimental results are therefore in clear deviation from the existing strain dependent phase diagrams.

  3. Nickel coated flyash (Ni-FAC) cenosphere doped polyaniline composite film for electromagnetic shielding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bora, Pritom J; Ramamurthy, Praveen C; Madras, Giridhar; Vinoy, K J; Kishore

    2015-01-01

    A solid waste material fly ash cenosphere (FAC) was nickel coated and polyaniline in situ polymerized at −30 ± 2 °C in nitrogen atmosphere. A thin film of this composite material was prepared by solution processing and surface morphology/topography was studied. High electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) was obtained for this film; 59 ± 4 μm and 133 ± 4 μm films show an average of 38 and 60 dB SE, respectively, in the frequency range 8.2–12.4 GHz (X-band). Unlike PANI film, the SE of these composite films is high at high frequency. The presence of magneto dielectric microsphere (Ni-FAC) increases the heterogeneity of the composite film in an efficient way for EMI shielding by changing film topography and increasing ac conductivity and permeability. (paper)

  4. One-step electrochemical composite polymerization of polypyrrole integrated with functionalized graphene/carbon nanotubes nanostructured composite film for electrochemical capacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding Bing; Lu Xiangjun; Yuan Changzhou; Yang Sudong; Han Yongqin; Zhang Xiaogang; Che Qian

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: A novel one-step electrochemical co-deposition strategy was first proposed to prepare unique polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes (PPy/F-RGO/CNTs) ternary composites, where F-RGO, CNTs, and PPy were electrodeposited simultaneously to construct a three-dimensional (3-D) highly porous film electrode. Highlights: ► Isolated, water-soluble graphene was obtained through benzenesulfonic functionalization. ► PPy/F-RGO/CNTs ternary composite film was prepared via one-step electrochemical co-deposition route. ► PPy/F-RGO/CNTs film shows 3-D highly porous nanostructure and high electrical conductivity. ► PPy/F-RGO/CNTs film exhibits high capacitance, good high-rate performance with a remarkable cycling stability. - Abstract: A novel one-step electrochemical composite polymerization strategy was first proposed to prepare unique polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes (PPy/F-RGO/CNTs) ternary composites, where F-RGO, CNTs, and PPy were electrodeposited simultaneously to construct a three-dimensional (3-D) highly porous film electrode. Such ternary composite film electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 300 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 as well as a remarkable cycling stability at high rates, which is related to its unique nanostructure and high electrical conductivity. F-RGO and CNTs act as an electron-transporting backbone of a 3-D porous nanostructure, leaving adequate working space for facile electrolyte penetration and better faradaic utilization of the electro-active PPy. Furthermore, the straightforward approach proposed here can be readily extended to prepare other composite film electrodes with good electrochemical performance for energy storage.

  5. Effect of top electrode material on radiation-induced degradation of ferroelectric thin film structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brewer, Steven J.; Bassiri-Gharb, Nazanin [G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Deng, Carmen Z.; Callaway, Connor P. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Paul, McKinley K. [G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Woodward Academy, College Park, Georgia 30337 (United States); Fisher, Kenzie J. [G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Riverwood International Charter School, Atlanta, Georgia 30328 (United States); Guerrier, Jonathon E.; Jones, Jacob L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Rudy, Ryan Q.; Polcawich, Ronald G. [Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, Maryland 20783 (United States); Glaser, Evan R.; Cress, Cory D. [Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)

    2016-07-14

    The effects of gamma irradiation on the dielectric and piezoelectric responses of Pb[Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}]O{sub 3} (PZT) thin film stacks were investigated for structures with conductive oxide (IrO{sub 2}) and metallic (Pt) top electrodes. The samples showed, generally, degradation of various key dielectric, ferroelectric, and electromechanical responses when exposed to 2.5 Mrad (Si) {sup 60}Co gamma radiation. However, the low-field, relative dielectric permittivity, ε{sub r}, remained largely unaffected by irradiation in samples with both types of electrodes. Samples with Pt top electrodes showed substantial degradation of the remanent polarization and overall piezoelectric response, as well as pinching of the polarization hysteresis curves and creation of multiple peaks in the permittivity-electric field curves post irradiation. The samples with oxide electrodes, however, were largely impervious to the same radiation dose, with less than 5% change in any of the functional characteristics. The results suggest a radiation-induced change in the defect population or defect energy in PZT with metallic top electrodes, which substantially affects motion of internal interfaces such as domain walls. Additionally, the differences observed for stacks with different electrode materials implicate the ferroelectric–electrode interface as either the predominant source of radiation-induced effects (Pt electrodes) or the site of healing for radiation-induced defects (IrO{sub 2} electrodes).

  6. Non-Resonant Magnetoelectric Energy Harvesting Utilizing Phase Transformation in Relaxor Ferroelectric Single Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Finkel

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Recent advances in phase transition transduction enabled the design of a non-resonant broadband mechanical energy harvester that is capable of delivering an energy density per cycle up to two orders of magnitude larger than resonant cantilever piezoelectric type generators. This was achieved in a [011] oriented and poled domain engineered relaxor ferroelectric single crystal, mechanically biased to a state just below the ferroelectric rhombohedral (FR-ferroelectric orthorhombic (FO phase transformation. Therefore, a small variation in an input parameter, e.g., electrical, mechanical, or thermal will generate a large output due to the significant polarization change associated with the transition. This idea was extended in the present work to design a non-resonant, multi-domain magnetoelectric composite hybrid harvester comprised of highly magnetostrictive alloy, [Fe81.4Ga18.6 (Galfenol or TbxDy1-xFe2 (Terfenol-D], and lead indium niobate–lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PIN-PMN-PT domain engineered relaxor ferroelectric single crystal. A small magnetic field applied to the coupled device causes the magnetostrictive element to expand, and the resulting stress forces the phase change in the relaxor ferroelectric single crystal. We have demonstrated high energy conversion in this magnetoelectric device by triggering the FR-FO transition in the single crystal by a small ac magnetic field in a broad frequency range that is important for multi-domain hybrid energy harvesting devices.

  7. A flexible, high-performance magnetoelectric heterostructure of (001) oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 film grown on Ni foil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palneedi, Haribabu; Yeo, Hong Goo; Hwang, Geon-Tae; Annapureddy, Venkateswarlu; Kim, Jong-Woo; Choi, Jong-Jin; Trolier-McKinstry, Susan; Ryu, Jungho

    2017-09-01

    In this study, a flexible magnetoelectric (ME) heterostructure of PZT/Ni was fabricated by depositing a (001) oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) film on a thin, flexible Ni foil buffered with LaNiO3/HfO2. Excellent ferroelectric properties and large ME voltage coefficient of 3.2 V/cmṡOe were realized from the PZT/Ni heterostructure. The PZT/Ni composite's high performance was attributed to strong texturing of the PZT film, coupled with the compressive stress in the piezoelectric film. Besides, reduced substrate clamping in the PZT film due to the film on the foil structure and strong interfacial bonding in the PZT/LaNiO3/HfO2/Ni heterostructure could also have contributed to the high ME performance of PZT/Ni.

  8. Action of colloidal silica films on different nano-composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Abdalla

    Full Text Available Nano-composite films have been the subject of extensive work to develop the energy-storage efficiency of electrostatic capacitors. Factors such as polymer purity, nano-particles size, and film morphology drastically affect the electrostatic efficiency of the dielectric material that form an insulating film between conductive electrodes of a capacitor. This in turn affects the energy storage performance of the capacitor. In the present work, we have studied the dielectric properties of 4 high pure amorphous polymer films: polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA, polystyrene, polyimide and poly-4-vinylpyridine. Comparison between the dielectric properties of these polymers has revealed that the higher break down performance is a character of polyimide PI and PMMA. Also, our experimental data shows that adding colloidal silica to PMMA and PI leads to a net decrease in the dielectric properties compared to the pure polymer. Keywords: Dielectric break down, Polymers, Nano-composite, Colloidal silica

  9. Influence of high loading of cellulose nanocrystals in polyacrylonitrile composite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffrey Luo; Huibin Chang; Amir A. Bakhtiary Davijani; H. Clive Liu; Po-Hsiang Wang; Robert J. Moon; Satish Kumar

    2017-01-01

    Polyacrylonitrile-co-methacrylic acid (PAN-co-MAA) and cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite films were produced with up to 40 wt% CNC loading through the solution casting method. The rheological properties of the solution/suspensions and the structural, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the resulting films were investigated. The viscosity of the composite...

  10. Percolation in the dielectric function of Pb(Zr,Ti)O.sub.3./sub. - Pb.sub.2./sub.Ru.sub.2./sub.O.sub.6.5./sub. ferroelectric - metal composites

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Nuzhnyy, Dmitry; Buixaderas, Elena; Rychetský, Ivan; Kadlec, Christelle; Petzelt, Jan; Uršič, H.; Malič, B.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 47, č. 49 (2014), "495301-1"-"495301-6" ISSN 0022-3727 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP204/12/0232 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : effective medium * infrared and terahertz spectroscopy * electrical percolation * ferroelectric - metal composite Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 2.721, year: 2014

  11. Composition, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric ordering in Pb2InNbO6 crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bokov, A.A.; Raevskij, I.P.; Smotrakov, V.G.

    1984-01-01

    Effect of thermal treatment on temperatures of phase transitions and electrical properties has been studied in Pb 2 InNbO 6 crystals with the high-temperature phase transition of the order-disorder type in In and Nb cations disposition in crystallographic positions. The order-disorder transition temperature (Tsub(t) approximately 1020 deg C) has been directly determined for the first time using the method of electric conductivity investigation. It has been shown that Pb 2 InNbO 6 in the ordered state represents the antiferroelectric material with the Curie point of 195 deg C, and it represents the ferroelectric material with a smeared transition to the paraelectric phase in the temperature range of 60 deg C in the disordered state. With temperature decrease crystals with the mean ordering degree-paraelectric phase pass to the antiferroelectric phase and then to the ferroelectric phase

  12. PZT Films Fabricated by Metal Organic Decomposition Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobolev, Vladimir; Ishchuk, Valeriy

    2014-03-01

    High quality lead zirconate titanate films have been fabricated on different substrates by metal organic decomposition method and their ferroelectric properties have been investigated. Main attention was paid to studies of the influence of the buffer layer with conditional composition Pb1.3(Zr0.5Ti0.5) O3 on the properties of Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5) O3 films fabricated on the polycrystalline titanium and platinum substrates. It is found that in the films on the Pt substrate (with or without the buffer layer) the dependencies of the remanent polarization and the coercivity field on the number of switching cycles do not manifest fatigue up to 109 cycles. The remanent polarization dependencies for films on the Ti substrate with the buffer layer containing an excess of PbO demonstrate an fundamentally new feature that consists of a remanent polarization increase after 108 switching cycles. The increase of remanent polarization is about 50% when the number of cycles approaches 1010, while the increase of the coercivity field is small. A monotonic increase of dielectric losses has been observed in all cases.

  13. Ferroelectric Electron Emission Principles and Technology

    CERN Document Server

    Riege, H

    1997-01-01

    The spontaneous electrical polarization of ferroelectric materials can be changed either by reversal or by phase transition from a ferroelectric into a non-ferroelectric state or vice versa. If spontaneous polarization changes are induced with fast heat, mechanical pressure, laser or electric field pulses on a submicrosecond time scale, strong uncompensated surface charge densities and related polarization fields are generated, which may lead to the intense self-emission of electrons from the negatively charged free surface areas of the ferroelectric sample. Hence, electron guns can be built with extraction-field-free ferroelectric cathodes, which may be easily separated from the high-field regions of post-accelerating gap structures. The intensity, the energy, the temporal and spatial distribution, and the repetitition rate of the emitted electron beams can be controlled within wide limits via the excitation pulses and external focusing and accelerating electromagnetic fields. The technological advantages an...

  14. Optical and electro-optic anisotropy of epitaxial PZT thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Minmin; Du, Zehui; Jing, Lin; Yoong Tok, Alfred Iing; Tong Teo, Edwin Hang

    2015-07-01

    Strong optical and electro-optic (EO) anisotropy has been investigated in ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.48Ti0.52)O3 thin films epitaxially grown on Nb-SrTiO3 (001), (011), and (111) substrates using magnetron sputtering. The refractive index, electro-optic, and ferroelectric properties of the samples demonstrate the significant dependence on the growth orientation. The linear electro-optic coefficients of the (001), (011), and (111)-oriented PZT thin films were 270.8, 198.8, and 125.7 pm/V, respectively. Such remarkable anisotropic EO behaviors have been explained according to the structure correlation between the orientation dependent distribution, spontaneous polarization, epitaxial strain, and domain pattern.

  15. Ferroelectric negative capacitance domain dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Michael; Khan, Asif Islam; Serrao, Claudy; Lu, Zhongyuan; Salahuddin, Sayeef; Pešić, Milan; Slesazeck, Stefan; Schroeder, Uwe; Mikolajick, Thomas

    2018-05-01

    Transient negative capacitance effects in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 capacitors are investigated with a focus on the dynamical switching behavior governed by domain nucleation and growth. Voltage pulses are applied to a series connection of the ferroelectric capacitor and a resistor to directly measure the ferroelectric negative capacitance during switching. A time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach is used to investigate the underlying domain dynamics. The transient negative capacitance is shown to originate from reverse domain nucleation and unrestricted domain growth. However, with the onset of domain coalescence, the capacitance becomes positive again. The persistence of the negative capacitance state is therefore limited by the speed of domain wall motion. By changing the applied electric field, capacitor area or external resistance, this domain wall velocity can be varied predictably over several orders of magnitude. Additionally, detailed insights into the intrinsic material properties of the ferroelectric are obtainable through these measurements. A new method for reliable extraction of the average negative capacitance of the ferroelectric is presented. Furthermore, a simple analytical model is developed, which accurately describes the negative capacitance transient time as a function of the material properties and the experimental boundary conditions.

  16. Preparation and properties of the (Sr,BaNb2O6 thin films by using the sputtering method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diao Chien-Chen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Strontium barium niobate (Sr0.3Ba0.7Nb2O6, SBN thin films were deposited on silicon substrate by using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering and under different deposition power and time at room temperature. Surface morphology and thicknesses of the SBN thin films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The crystallization films at different deposition power and time were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD using CuKα radiation from a Rigaku rotating anode with an incident angle of 2°. The remnant polarization (Pr, saturation polarization (Ps, and minimum coercive field (Ec properties of the metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM structure were measured using ferroelectric material test instrument. The SBN thin films deposited at 90 min and 125 W had the maximum Pr, Ps, and minimum Ec of 1.26 μC/cm2, 2.41 μC/cm2, and 201.6 kV/cm, respectively. From above results, it knows that the SBN thin films suit for application on ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM.

  17. Influence of Zr/Ti ratio and preferred orientation on polarization switching and domain configuration of Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Young Hyun; Lee, Jung Kun; Hong, Kug Sun

    2003-01-01

    The (100) and (111) oriented Pb(Zr 1-x Ti x )O 3 (PZT) thins films were prepared on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si(100) substrate using sol-gel process. The ferroelectric and dielectric properties were evaluated as a function of Zr/Ti ratio and the origin of their changes were discussed in terms of domain engineering. With increasing Zr/Ti ratio, the remnant polarization of the polar axis decreased from 23.87 to 10.66 μC/cm 2 and the difference of the saturated polarization between polar axis and non-polar axis increased systematically. The fatigue rate of PZT films was disproportional to Zr/Ti ratio. At a composition of x = 0.7, the remnant polarization decreased from 2P r = 30.82 μC/cm 2 to 26.60 μC/cm 2 after 6.9 x 10 10 cycles. The fatigue rate was also related to the direction of polarization reversal and the increased fatigue behavior was observed in polar axis. These results were discussed with the aid of the domain configuration and the switching current, which revealed the role of the internal stress on ferroelectric property of PZT films

  18. A polarized Raman study of the relaxor and ferroelectric states of La-modified lead zirconate titanate ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Marssi, M.; Farhi, R.; Viehland, D.

    1997-01-01

    Lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate ceramics with La/Zr/Ti ratios of 6/40/60, 12/40/60, 5/65/35, and 9/65/35 have been studied by polarized Raman scattering. In the two former (tetragonal-type) compositions, selection rules were rather well defined and allowed an assignment of the Raman lines at lower temperature. These selection rules disappeared for 6/40/60 but remained for 12/40/60 even at higher temperatures. The behavior of the two latter (rhombohedral-type compositions) was quite different. No assignment of lines could be done. In addition, the spectra recorded in parallel and crossed polarizations were almost identical for 5/65/35 regardless of temperature. A very smeared paraelectric to ferroelectric transition was evidenced by Raman intensity measurements for this composition. On the contrary, selection rules were always present for the relaxor composition 9/65/35 which were similar to those for 12/40/60 and 6/40/60. This suggests that both tetragonal and rhombohedral-type local polar order is present for 9/65/35. The spectra of the field induced ferroelectric phase for 9/65/35 revealed no selection rules, similar to 5/65/35. This is attributed to the onset of only medium range ferroelectric order. Finally, Raman spectra recorded on powders of every composition did not reveal any selection rules, suggesting that intergranular effects might play a significant role in the behavior of these materials. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  19. Structural and thermal properties of silk fibroin - Silver nanoparticles composite films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shivananda, C. S.; Rao B, B. Lakshmeesha; Shetty, G. Rajesh; Sangappa, Y.

    2018-05-01

    In this work, silk fibroin-silver nanoparticles (SF-AgNPs) composite films have been prepared by simple solution casting method. The composite films were examined for structural and thermal properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimatric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The XRD results showed that with the introduction of AgNPs in the silk fibroin matrix the amorphous nature of the silk fibroin decreases with increasing nanoparticles concentration. The silk fibroin films possess good thermal stability with the presence of AgNPs.

  20. Solid-phase photocatalytic degradation of polyethylene-goethite composite film under UV-light irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, G.L.; Zhu, D.W.; Liao, S.J.; Ren, L.Y.; Cui, J.Z.; Zhou, W.B.

    2009-01-01

    A novel photodegradable polyethylene-goethite (PE-goethite) composite film was prepared by embedding the goethite into the commercial polyethylene. The degradation of PE-goethite composite films was investigated under ultraviolet light irradiation. The photodegradation activity of the PE plastic was determined by monitoring its weight loss, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. The weight of PE-goethite (1 wt%) sample steadily decreased and led to the total 16% reduction in 300 h under UV-light intensity for 1 mW/cm 2 . Through SEM observation there were some cavities around the goethite powder in the composite films, but there were few changes except some surface chalking phenomenon in pure PE film. The degradation rate could be controlled by changing the concentration of goethite particles in PE plastic. The degradation of composite plastic initiated on PE-goethite interface and then extended into polymer matrix induced by the diffusion of the reactive oxygen species generated on goethite particle surface. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of the composite films was briefly discussed.