Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Chemical Synthesis of Porous Barium Titanate Thin Film and Thermal Stabilization of Ferroelectric Phase by Porosity-Induced Strain
Published on: March 27, 2018
Stress-induced phase transition in ferroelectric domain walls of BaTiO3
V Stepkova1, P Marton, J Hlinka
1Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
The seminal paper by Zhirnov (1958 Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 35 1175-80) explained why the structure of domain walls in ferroelectrics and ferromagnets is drastically different. Here we show that the antiparallel ferroelectric walls in rhombohedral ferroelectric BaTiO(3) can be switched between the Ising-like state (typical for ferroelectrics) and a Bloch-like state (unusual for ferroelectric walls but typical for magnetic ones). Phase-field simulations using a Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire model suggest that this symmetry-breaking transition can be induced by a compressive epitaxial stress. The strain-tunable chiral properties of these domain walls promise a range of novel phenomena in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions
Electrostatic Boundary Conditions in Dielectrics
Consider a case where both the mediums across a boundary are two different dielectric materials. Recall that the electric field and electric displacement are proportional and related through the material's permittivity.
Ferromagnetism
Phase Diagram

