Fabrication of epitaxial nanostructured ferroelectrics and investigation of their domain structures

Nanostructured ferroelectrics are important objects for studies on ferroelectric size effects as well as for applications to memory devices with ultra-high memory density. In the present article, we introduce several approaches for the synthesis of confined ferroelectrics with sizes in and below the hundreds of nanometer range, including top-down processes like e-beam lithography, self-assembly methods like chemical solution deposition, and growth by pulsed laser deposition using stencil masks. Furthermore, the ferroelectric domain structure of part of these nanostructures is investigated by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and its contribution to the ferroelectric properties is discussed.