Journal
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
Volume 113, Issue 18, Pages -Publisher
AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/1.4801974
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- ICREA Funding Source: Custom
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The surface of BiFeO3 single crystals has been characterized at the local level using several AFM-based techniques. We have observed the presence of two different epilayers showing electrical and mechanical properties different from those of the bulk: a ferroelectrically dead outer skin of 5 nm sitting upon a subsurface layer that displays an extremely fine pattern of hierarchical self-ordered nanodomains. Based on the size of the nanodomains and applying a Kittel-like analysis, we argue that the nanotwinned region should be confined in a layer less than a micron deep. The superficial phase transition at T* = 275 degrees C is restricted to the outer skin layer (the dead layer), while the nanotwinned layer is insensitive to this transition. In view of the photovoltaic properties and spin-dependent transport of domain walls in BiFeO3, the existence of nanodomains (and thus a high density of domain walls) in bulk single crystals is likely to be relevant for understanding their functional properties. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC
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