Journal
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
Volume 106, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/1.4905837
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Funding
- NSF [DMR-1210588, DMR-1234096, DMR 1410714, OCI-0821527]
- US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering [DE-FG02-07ER46417]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Materials Research [1234096, 1410714, 1210588] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Flexoelectric coefficient is a fourth-rank tensor arising from the coupling between strain gradient and electric polarization and thus exists in all crystals. It is generally ignored for macroscopic crystals due to its small magnitude. However, at the nanoscale, flexoelectric contributions may become significant and can potentially be utilized for device applications. Using the phase-field method, we study the mechanical switching of electric polarization in ferroelectric thin films by a strain gradient created via an atomic force microscope tip. Our simulation results show good agreement with existing experimental observations. We examine the competition between the piezoelectric and flexoelectric effects and provide an understanding of the role of flexoelectricity in the polarization switching. Also, by changing the pressure and film thickness, we reveal that the flexoelectric field at the film bottom can be used as a criterion to determine whether domain switching may happen under a mechanical force. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.
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