High dielectric constant associated with the strain-induced phase transition of an ordered assembly of BaTiO3 nanocubes under three-dimensional clamping

Numerical calculations of the Gibbs function for an ordered assembly of BaTiO3 nanocubes (nanocrystals) under three-dimensional clamping have revealed that the phase transition from a tetragonal to cubic crystal structure can take place at room temperature at some misfit strain associated with a tilt angle of the attached nanocubes. The phase transition is second-order due to the three-dimensional clamping. Near and at the phase transition, the dielectric constant becomes extremely high owing to the second-order transition. This is considered to be the reason for the high dielectric constant of an assembly at room temperature, which has been experimentally observed. An ordered assembly of BaTiO3 nanocubes under rigid three-dimensional clamping is a completely different system from the normal nanocrystalline (polycrystalline) BaTiO3 ceramics under elastic clamping and from a BaTiO3 epitaxial thin film under two-dimensional clamping. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics