Colossal Strain Tuning of Ferroelectric Transitions in KNbO3 Thin Films

Hazra, Sankalpa;Schwaigert, Tobias;Ross, Aiden;Lu, Haidong;Gopalan, Venkatraman;et.al.
(2024) Advanced Materials — Vol. 36, n° 52, p. 2408664 (2024)

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Authors
  • Hazra, Sankalpaorcid-logoDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802, USA
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  • Schwaigert, Tobiasorcid-logoPlatform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, and Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM) Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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  • Ross, Aidenorcid-logoDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802, USA
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  • Lu, Haidongorcid-logoDepartment of Physics and Astronomy University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
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  • Trinquet, Victororcid-logoUCLouvain
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  • Rignanese, Gian-Marcoorcid-logoUCLouvain
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  • Gopalan, Venkatramanorcid-logoDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802, USA
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Abstract
Strong coupling between polarization (P) and strain (ɛ) in ferroelectric complex oxides offers unique opportunities to dramatically tune their properties. Here colossal strain tuning of ferroelectricity in epitaxial KNbO3 thin films grown by sub-oxide molecular beam epitaxy is demonstrated. While bulk KNbO3 exhibits three ferroelectric transitions and a Curie temperature (Tc) of ≈676 K, phase-field modeling predicts that a biaxial strain of as little as −0.6% pushes its Tc > 975 K, its decomposition temperature in air, and for −1.4% strain, to Tc > 1325 K, its melting point. Furthermore, a strain of −1.5% can stabilize a single phase throughout the entire temperature range of its stability. A combination of temperature-dependent second harmonic generation measurements, synchrotron-based X-ray reciprocal space mapping, ferroelectric measurements, and transmission electron microscopy reveal a single tetragonal phase from 10 K to 975 K, an enhancement of ≈46% in the tetragonal phase remanent polarization (Pr), and a ≈200% enhancement in its optical second harmonic generation coefficients over bulk values. These properties in a lead-free system, but with properties comparable or superior to lead-based systems, make it an attractive candidate for applications ranging from high-temperature ferroelectric memory to cryogenic temperature quantum computing.
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Hazra, S., Schwaigert, T., Ross, A., Lu, H., Saha, U., Trinquet, V., Akkopru‐Akgun, B., Gregory, B. Z., Mangu, A., Sarker, S., Kuznetsova, T., Sarker, S., Li, X., Barone, M. R., Xu, X., Freeland, J. W., Engel‐Herbert, R., Lindenberg, A. M., Singer, A., et al. (2024). Colossal Strain Tuning of Ferroelectric Transitions in KNbO3 Thin Films. Advanced Materials, 36(52), 2408664. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202408664 (Original work published 2024)