Systems with a ferroelectric to paraelectric transition in the vicinity of room temperature are useful for devices. Adjusting the ferroelectric transition temperature (T(c)) is traditionally accomplished by chemical substitution-as in Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO(3), the material widely investigated for microwave devices in which the dielectric constant (epsilon(r)) at GHz frequencies is tuned by applying a quasi-static electric field. Heterogeneity associated with chemical substitution in such films, however, can broaden this phase transition by hundreds of degrees, which is detrimental to tunability and microwave device performance. An alternative way to adjust T(c) in ferroelectric films is strain. Here we show that epitaxial strain from a newly developed substrate can be harnessed to increase T(c) by hundreds of degrees and produce room-temperature ferroelectricity in strontium titanate, a material that is not normally ferroelectric at any temperature. This strain-induced enhancement in T(c) is the largest ever reported. Spatially resolved images of the local polarization state reveal a uniformity that far exceeds films tailored by chemical substitution. The high epsilon(r) at room temperature in these films (nearly 7,000 at 10 GHz) and its sharp dependence on electric field are promising for device applications.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature02773 | DOI Listing |
J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces
January 2025
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, N-1433 AS, Norway.
Hybrid molecular ferroelectrics with orientationally disordered mesophases offer significant promise as lead-free alternatives to traditional inorganic ferroelectrics owing to properties such as room temperature ferroelectricity, low-energy synthesis, malleability, and potential for multiaxial polarization. The ferroelectric molecular salt HdabcoClO is of particular interest due to its ultrafast ferroelectric room-temperature switching. However, so far, there is limited understanding of the nature of dynamical disorder arising in these compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNano Lett
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Two-dimensional (2D) room-temperature chiral multiferroic and magnetic topological materials are essential for constructing functional spintronic devices, yet their number is extremely limited. Here, by using the chiral and polar HPP (HPP = 4-(3-hydroxypyridin-4-yl)pyridin-3-ol) as an organic linker and transition metals (TM = Cr, Mo, W) as nodes, we predict a class of 2D TM(HPP) organometallic nanosheets that incorporate homochirality, room-temperature magnetism, ferroelectricity, and topological nodes. The homochirality is introduced by chiral HPP linkers, and the change in structural chirality induces a topological phase transition of Weyl phonons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
High birefringence nematic liquid crystals are particularly demanded for adaptive optics applications in the infrared spectrum because it enable a thinner cell gap for achieving fast response time and improved diffraction efficiency. The emerging ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals have attracted widespread interest in soft matter due to their unique combination of ferroelectricity and fluidity. However, the birefringence, which is one of the most important optical parameters in electro-optic devices, is not large enough (<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Hubei Longzhong Laboratory, Wuhan University of Technology, Xiangyang Demonstration Zone, Xiangyang 441000, China.
Materials with high crystallographic symmetry are supposed to be good thermoelectrics because they have high valley degeneracy () and superb carrier mobility (μ). Binary GeSe crystallizes in a low-symmetry orthorhombic structure accompanying the stereoactive 4s lone pairs of Ge. Herein, we rationally modify GeSe into a high-symmetry rhombohedral structure by alloying with GeTe based on the valence-shell electron-pair repulsion theory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
The composition in ferroelectric oxide films is decisive for optimizing properties and device performances. Controlling a composition distribution in these films by a facile approach is thus highly desired. In this work, we report a solution epitaxy of PbZrTiO films with a continuous gradient of Zr concentration, realized by a competitive growth at ~220 °C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!