Large electrostrain induced by reversible domain switching in ordered ferroelectric nanostructures with optimized...

Large electromechanical response of ferroelectric materials is particularly appealing for applications in functional devices, such as sensors and actuators. For conventional ferroelectric materials, however, the mechanical strain under an external electric field, i.e. the electrostrain, is often limited by the intrinsic electromechanical property of the materials. Domain engineering has been suggested as a practical way to overcome this limitation and to enhance the electrostrain. Here, we show from phase-field simulations that reversible domain switching in ordered ferroelectric nanostructures with optimized geometric configurations can enhance the electrostrain significantly. In the presence of an external electric field, the domains in such nanostructures can switch from a multi-domain state confined by the geometric configurations to a mono-domain state. It is interesting that the domains can switch back to the multi-domain state due to strong internal depolarization fields once the electric field is removed. As a result, accompanying the reversible domain switching behavior, a large and reversible electrostrain can be obtained. Going further, it is found that the temperature dependence of the large electrostrain is similar to that of polarization in such nanostructures. The present work opens a perspective to obtaining large electrostrain in nanoscale ferroelectrics, which holds great promise for designing electromechanical functional devices with high performance.