Terahertz-Range Polar Modes in Domain-Engineered BiFeO_{3}

The dielectric permittivity and properties of electrically active lattice resonances in nanotwinned BiFeO_{3} crystals have been studied theoretically using an earlier established interatomic potential. The results suggest that an array of 71° domain walls with about 2-5 nm spacing enhances the static permittivity of BiFeO_{3} by more than an order of magnitude. This enhancement is associated with an electrically active excitation, corresponding to a collective vibration of pinned domain walls at a remarkably high frequency of about 0.3 THz.