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Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications
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Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 18316

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Andrei Kholkin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CICECO–Materials Institute of Aveiro & Physics Department, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: functional materials; scanning probe microscopy; ferroelectrics; piezoelectrics; MEMS; sensors and actuators; composites; energy harvesting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Denis Alikin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Associate Professor, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia
2. Department of Physics, CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: scanning probe microscopy; ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials; domain structure; electronic; ionic and thermal transport; lead-free piezoelectric materials; nanoscale material characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ferroelectric-based devices are expected to decrease in size down to a nanometer scale, while remaining compatible with semiconductor technology. It is well known that many useful properties of ferroelectrics and piezoelectrics (dielectric constant, conductivity, spontaneous polarization, etc.) will be modified at the nanoscale due to the increased influence of interfaces, point and extended defects, and fluctuations. Recent progress in deposition and patterning techniques has not been followed by the corresponding understanding of ferroelectric phenomena at the nanoscale. This obviously limits further miniaturization of ferroelectrics and poses serious problems in the development of ferroelectric-based devices, piezoelectric sensors and actuators, probe-based storage devices, etc. There is increased research on nanoscale ferroelectrics and this is currently receiving a lot of attention in the scientific community. This Special Issue seeks contributions from authors who are engaged in the fabrication, characterization and application of nanoscale ferroelectrics and structures on their base components. Contributions are sought in the following areas:

  • Novel techniques for nanopatterning and domain engineering of ferroelectrics and related materials
  • Nanoscale characterization of ferroelectrics, including scanning probe microscopy techniques
  • Degradation phenomena in ferroelectrics at the nanoscale
  • Local electrical and mechanical properties and size effects in ferroelectrics
  • Ferroelectric thin films and their applications
  • Nanoelectromechanical devices and systems based on ferroelectrics
  • Applications of nanoscale ferroelectrics and systems on their base components

Dr. Andrei Kholkin
Dr. Denis Alikin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ferroelectrics
  • piezoelectrics
  • thin films
  • local characterization
  • scanning probe microscopy
  • size effects

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 1926 KiB  
Article
Mn-Doped BaTiO3 Ceramics: Thermal and Electrical Properties for Multicaloric Applications
by Alexander Semenov, Antonina Dedyk, Ivan Mylnikov, Oleg Pakhomov, Andrey Es’kov, Alexander Anokhin, Vasiliy Krylov, Anton Burovikhin, Yulia Pavlova, Alexander Tselev and Andrei Kholkin
Materials 2019, 12(21), 3592; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12213592 - 31 Oct 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3037
Abstract
Multiferroic materials are widely used in microelectronics because they are sensitive to elastic, magnetic, and electric fields and there is an intrinsic coupling between them. In particular, transition metal-doped BaTiO3 is considered as a viable multiferroic because of the simultaneous presence of [...] Read more.
Multiferroic materials are widely used in microelectronics because they are sensitive to elastic, magnetic, and electric fields and there is an intrinsic coupling between them. In particular, transition metal-doped BaTiO3 is considered as a viable multiferroic because of the simultaneous presence of ferroelectricity and magnetism. In this work, we study the electrical and thermal properties of Mn-doped BaTiO3 ceramics that can be used for multicaloric applications. We found that Mn doping leads to the broadening and shifting of the phase transition accompanied with simultaneous decrease of latent heat and entropy. Mn doping causes a decrease in the bulk resistivity while contact resistance remains intact. Doped ceramics can withstand high electric fields (up to 40 kV/cm) and exhibit linear I-V characteristics followed by the Schottky limited current in contrast to earlier observations. As such, these ceramics are promising for multicaloric applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications)
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10 pages, 4013 KiB  
Article
Hydrogen/Deuterium Dynamics in Hydroxyl Salts Co2(OH)3Br/Co2(OD)3Br Revealed by Muon Spin Relaxation
by Xing-Liang Xu, Xu-Guang Zheng and Isao Watanabe
Materials 2019, 12(13), 2135; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12132135 - 3 Jul 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2562
Abstract
The temperature-dependent dynamics of the hydrogen/deuterium atoms in geometrically frustrated magnets Co2(OH)3Br and its deuterated form Co2(OD)3Br were investigated by muon spin relaxation (μSR). The deuterium atoms in Co2(OD)3Br [...] Read more.
The temperature-dependent dynamics of the hydrogen/deuterium atoms in geometrically frustrated magnets Co2(OH)3Br and its deuterated form Co2(OD)3Br were investigated by muon spin relaxation (μSR). The deuterium atoms in Co2(OD)3Br were found to be rapidly fluctuating at high temperatures, which should be arising as a quantum atomic effect due to the small mass of deuterium, then they drastically slowed down toward Tc = 250 K where a broad anomaly appeared in the dielectric response, and finally became quasi-static at around 180 K. Meanwhile, the hydrogen atoms in Co2(OH)3Br also exhibited a two-step slowing at ~240 K and ~180 K, respectively. The revealed properties in Co2(OH)3Br/Co2(OD)3Br are reminiscent of relaxor-type ferroelectrics. The present study suggested the effectiveness of the μSR technique on revealing the hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) dynamics in Co2(OH)3Br/Co2(OD)3Br. Furthermore, magnetic coupling was found to be existing at high temperatures in this system. This work provides clear evidence to the mechanism of ferroelectric responses in the hydroxyl salts, i.e., the slowing of protons (deuterium ions) is directly related to the newly revealed ferroelectricity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications)
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9 pages, 4072 KiB  
Article
Structure and Dynamics of Ferroelectric Domains in Polycrystalline Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3
by Hana Ursic, Andreja Bencan, Uros Prah, Mirela Dragomir and Barbara Malic
Materials 2019, 12(8), 1327; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12081327 - 23 Apr 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3831
Abstract
A complex domain structure with variations in the morphology is observed at ambient temperature in monoclinic Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3. Using electron microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy, it is possible to reveal micrometre-sized wedge, lamellar-like, and irregularly shaped domains. By [...] Read more.
A complex domain structure with variations in the morphology is observed at ambient temperature in monoclinic Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3. Using electron microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy, it is possible to reveal micrometre-sized wedge, lamellar-like, and irregularly shaped domains. By increasing the temperature, the domain structure persists up to 80 °C, and then starts to disappear at around 100 °C due to the proximity of the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition, in agreement with macroscopic dielectric measurements. In order to understand to what degree domain switching can occur in the ceramic, the mobility of the domain walls was studied at ambient temperature. The in situ poling experiment performed using piezoresponse force microscopy resulted in an almost perfectly poled area, providing evidence that all types of domains can be easily switched. By poling half an area with 20 V and the other half with −20 V, two domains separated by a straight domain wall were created, indicating that Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 is a promising material for domain-wall engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications)
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12 pages, 9306 KiB  
Article
Domain Diversity and Polarization Switching in Amino Acid β-Glycine
by Daria Vasileva, Semen Vasilev, Andrei L. Kholkin and Vladimir Ya. Shur
Materials 2019, 12(8), 1223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12081223 - 15 Apr 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3456
Abstract
Piezoelectric materials based on lead zirconate titanate are widely used in sensors and actuators. However, their application is limited because of high processing temperature, brittleness, lack of conformal deposition and, more importantly, intrinsic incompatibility with biological environments. Recent studies on bioorganic piezoelectrics have [...] Read more.
Piezoelectric materials based on lead zirconate titanate are widely used in sensors and actuators. However, their application is limited because of high processing temperature, brittleness, lack of conformal deposition and, more importantly, intrinsic incompatibility with biological environments. Recent studies on bioorganic piezoelectrics have demonstrated their potential in these applications, essentially due to using the same building blocks as those used by nature. In this work, we used piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) to study the domain structures and polarization reversal in the smallest amino acid glycine, which recently attracted a lot of attention due to its strong shear piezoelectric activity. In this uniaxial ferroelectric, a diverse domain structure that includes both 180° and charged domain walls was observed, as well as domain wall kinks related to peculiar growth and crystallographic structure of this material. Local polarization switching was studied by applying a bias voltage to the PFM tip, and the possibility to control the resulting domain structure was demonstrated. This study has shown that the as-grown domain structure and changes in the electric field in glycine are qualitatively similar to those found in the uniaxial inorganic ferroelectrics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications)
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11 pages, 3014 KiB  
Article
Synthesis, Giant Dielectric, and Pyroelectric Response of [001]-Oriented Pr3+ Doped Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 Ferroelectric Nano-Films Grown on Si Substrates
by Changlong Cai, Deqiang Zhang, Weiguo Liu, Jun Wang, Shun Zhou, Yongming Su, Xueping Sun and Dabin Lin
Materials 2018, 11(12), 2392; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11122392 - 28 Nov 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4180
Abstract
The [001]-oriented Pr3+ doped Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3 (Pr-PMN-PT) thin films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The crystal structure was characterized using X-ray diffraction. It was found that [...] Read more.
The [001]-oriented Pr3+ doped Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3 (Pr-PMN-PT) thin films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The crystal structure was characterized using X-ray diffraction. It was found that a single perovskite phase was achieved in Pr-PMN-PT thin films annealed at 650 °C for 3 min. The dielectric constant (εr) value was 2400 in 2.5% Pr-PMN-PT thin films at room temperature, 110% higher than that of pure PMN-PT samples. Through 2.5% Pr3+ doping, remanent polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) values increased from 11.5 μC/cm2 and 35 kV/cm to 17.3 μC/cm2 and 63.5 kV/cm, respectively, in PMN-PT thin films. The leakage current densities of pure and 2.5% Pr-PMN-PT thin films were on the order of 1.24 × 10−4 A/cm2 and 5.8 × 10−5 A/cm2, respectively, at 100 kV/cm. A high pyroelectric coefficient (py) with a value of 167 μC/m2K was obtained in 2.5% Pr-PMN-PT thin films on Si substrate, which makes this material suitable for application in infrared detectors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoscale Ferroelectrics and Their Applications)
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