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Domain wall roughness in stripe phase BiFeO3 thin films
B Ziegler1, K Martens2, T Giamarchi1
1DPMC-MaNEP, Université de Genève, 24 Quai Ernest Ansermet, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
Physical Review Letters
|February 4, 2014
Summary
Ferroelectric domain walls in bismuth ferrite thin films exhibit unique roughening behavior. This suggests random field pinning, influenced by sample morphology, dominates over other factors.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Ferroelectricity
Background:
- Ferroelectric domain walls act as elastic interfaces.
- Understanding their behavior is crucial for device applications.
- Periodic ordering and dipolar interactions influence interface dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate pinning effects on elastic interfaces using ferroelectric domain walls.
- Analyze the characteristic roughening of intrinsic stripe domains in bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3).
- Compare pinning behavior between intrinsic and artificially written domain walls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM).
- Studied intrinsic 71° stripe domains in BiFeO3 thin films.
- Analyzed domain wall roughening and calculated the roughness exponent (ζ).
Main Results:
- Observed unexpectedly high roughness exponent values (ζ=0.74±0.10) for intrinsic domains.
- Found significant differences compared to artificially written domain walls.
- Discovered that random field-dominated pinning is likely the primary mechanism.
Conclusions:
- Intrinsic ferroelectric domain wall roughening is governed by strong pinning effects.
- Sample morphology, including step-bunching, enhances disorder and strain.
- Random field pinning is a key factor in the observed interface behavior.
