Polarization switching in epitaxial BiFeO3 films -: art. no. 252902

Ferroelectric domain structure and polarization switching in an epitaxial BiFeO3 film grown on a 0.8 degrees miscut SrTiO3(001) substrate were studied by piezoelectric force microscopy. The film shows a two-domain stripe pattern, with the polarization vectors oriented along two < 111 > axes which form an angle of 71 degrees. Polarization switching was investigated by locally poling the film. By combining the perpendicular and in-plane piezoresponse data we found that polarization rotates by 71 degrees and 109 degrees, while 180 degrees switching is mainly observed at low fields. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.