Intermediate multidomain state in single-crystalline Mn-doped BiFeO3 thin films during ferroelectric polarization switching

Seiji Nakashima; Koji Kimura; Naohisa Happo; Artoni Kevin R Ang; Yuta Yamamoto; Halubai Sekhar; Ai I Osaka; Koichi Hayashi; Hironori Fujisawa

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-65215-w

Intermediate multidomain state in single-crystalline Mn-doped BiFeO₃ thin films during ferroelectric polarization switching

Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 21;14(1):14358. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65215-w.

Authors

Seiji Nakashima¹, Koji Kimura^{2

3

4}, Naohisa Happo⁵, Artoni Kevin R Ang⁶, Yuta Yamamoto⁷, Halubai Sekhar^{2

4}, Ai I Osaka⁸, Koichi Hayashi^{2

4}, Hironori Fujisawa⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo, Himeji, Hyogo, 671-2201, Japan. [email protected].
² Department of Physical Science and Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan.
³ Research Center for Advanced Measurement and Characterization, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0047, Japan.
⁴ Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Super Photon Ring-8GeV (SPring-8), Sayo, 679-5198, Japan.
⁵ Department of Computer and Network Engineering, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Hiroshima City University, Asa-Minami-Ku, Hiroshima, 731-3194, Japan.
⁶ Toyota Technological Institute, Nagoya, Aichi, 468-8511, Japan.
⁷ Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, 630-0192, Japan.
⁸ Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo, Himeji, Hyogo, 671-2201, Japan.

Abstract

A intermediate multidomain state and large crystallographic tilting of 1.78° for the (hh0)_pc planes of a (001)_pc-oriented single-domain Mn-doped BiFeO₃ (BFMO) thin film were found when an electric field was applied along the [110]_pc direction. The anomalous crystallographic tilting was caused by ferroelastic domain switching of the 109° domain switching. In addition, ferroelastic domain switching occurred via an intermediate multidomain state. To investigate these switching dynamics under an electric field, we used in situ fluorescent X-ray induced Kossel line pattern measurements with synchrotron radiation. In addition, in situ inverse X-ray fluorescence holography (XFH) experiments revealed that atomic displacement occurred under an applied electric field. We attributed the atomic displacement to crystallographic tilting induced by a converse piezoelectric effect. Our findings provide important insights for the design of piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials and devices.

Abstract

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