Alkali-deficiency driven charged out-of-phase boundaries for giant electromechanical response

Haijun Wu (), Shoucong Ning, Moaz Waqar, Huajun Liu, Yang Zhang, Hong-Hui Wu (), Ning Li, Yuan Wu, Kui Yao, Turab Lookman, Xiangdong Ding, Jun Sun, John Wang () and Stephen J. Pennycook ()
Additional contact information
Haijun Wu: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Shoucong Ning: National University of Singapore
Moaz Waqar: National University of Singapore
Huajun Liu: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research)
Yang Zhang: Instrumental Analysis Center of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an Jiaotong University
Hong-Hui Wu: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Ning Li: National University of Singapore
Yuan Wu: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Kui Yao: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research)
Turab Lookman: 818 Bishops Lodge Road
Xiangdong Ding: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Jun Sun: Xi’an Jiaotong University
John Wang: National University of Singapore
Stephen J. Pennycook: National University of Singapore

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Traditional strategies for improving piezoelectric properties have focused on phase boundary engineering through complex chemical alloying and phase control. Although they have been successfully employed in bulk materials, they have not been effective in thin films due to the severe deterioration in epitaxy, which is critical to film properties. Contending with the opposing effects of alloying and epitaxy in thin films has been a long-standing issue. Herein we demonstrate a new strategy in alkali niobate epitaxial films, utilizing alkali vacancies without alloying to form nanopillars enclosed with out-of-phase boundaries that can give rise to a giant electromechanical response. Both atomically resolved polarization mapping and phase field simulations show that the boundaries are strained and charged, manifesting as head-head and tail-tail polarization bound charges. Such charged boundaries produce a giant local depolarization field, which facilitates a steady polarization rotation between the matrix and nanopillars. The local elastic strain and charge manipulation at out-of-phase boundaries, demonstrated here, can be used as an effective pathway to obtain large electromechanical response with good temperature stability in similar perovskite oxides.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23107-x

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