Sizable electrocaloric effect in a wide temperature range tuned by tensile misfit strain in BaTiO3 thin films

The effects of misfit strain on the electrocaloric (EC) properties of BaTiO3 thin films arestudied by using the Landau-Devonshire thermodynamic theory. The misfit-strain temperature phase diagrams for different electric fields are constructed. It was found that the EC effect of a BaTiO3 thin film is strongly dependent on misfit strain. More interestingly, we found that BaTiO3 thin films with tensile misfit strain exhibit a sizable EC effect in a wider temperature range in comparison with those with compressive misfit strain. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3596814]