Giant enhancement of ferroelectric retention in BiFeO3 mixed-phase boundary

Abstract

A large enhancement of nanodomain retention is shown in the mixed-phase region of a strained BiFeO3 epitaxial film. The superior ferroelectric retention is attributed to a lower elastic-energy density at the phase boundaries, which act as periodic pinning centers for the domain wall motion. This study delivers a new pathway of incorporating an elastic-energy term to assist ferroelectric retention.

Keywords: domain wall motion; nanoscale domain retention; periodic potential; phase boundaries; strained BiFeO3.