TY - JOUR
KW - Electric potential
KW - Dynamics
KW - Nanostructured materials
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Polarization
KW - Ferroelectric materials
KW - Nanotechnology
KW - Ferroelectricity
KW - Ferroelectric domains
KW - Single crystals
KW - Switching
KW - Switching behaviors
KW - Piezoforce microscopy
KW - Nanoscale
KW - Domain imaging
KW - Domain switching dynamics
KW - Domain wall velocities
KW - Energy landscape
KW - Feature density
KW - Ferroelectric domain polarization
KW - Growth conditions
KW - Growth velocity
KW - Local dynamics
KW - Mechanical compliance
KW - Optimization of switching
KW - Polarization reversals
KW - Switching patterns
KW - Switching time
KW - Voltage pulse
AU - N.A Polomoff
AU - A Rakin
AU - Sang Hoon Lee
AU - V Palumbo
AU - P Yu
AU - Y.H Chu
AU - Ramamoorthy Ramesh
AU - B.D Huey
AB - The local dynamics of ferroelectric domain polarization are uniquely investigated with sub-20-nm resolved maps of switching times, growth velocities, and growth directions. This is achieved by analyzing movies of hundreds of consecutive high speed piezo force microscopy images, which record domain switching dynamics through repeatedly alternating between high speed domain imaging and the application of 20-nanosecond voltage pulses. Recurrent switching patterns are revealed, and domain wall velocities for nascent domains are uniquely reported to be up to four times faster than for mature domains with radii greater than approximately 100 nm. Switching times, speeds, and directions are also shown to correlate with local mechanical compliance, with domains preferentially nucleating and growing in compliant sample regions while clearly shunting around locations with higher stiffness. This deterministic switching behavior strongly supports a defect-mediated energy landscape which controls polarization reversal, and that can therefore be predicted, modeled, and even manipulated through composition, processing, and geometry. Such results have important implications for the practical performance of ferroelectric devices by enabling guided optimization of switching times and feature densities, while the methods employed provide a new means to investigate and correlate dynamic functionality with mechanical properties at the nanoscale. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.
BT - Journal of Applied Physics
DO - 10.1063/1.3581205
LA - eng
M1 - 9
N1 - cited By 4
N2 - The local dynamics of ferroelectric domain polarization are uniquely investigated with sub-20-nm resolved maps of switching times, growth velocities, and growth directions. This is achieved by analyzing movies of hundreds of consecutive high speed piezo force microscopy images, which record domain switching dynamics through repeatedly alternating between high speed domain imaging and the application of 20-nanosecond voltage pulses. Recurrent switching patterns are revealed, and domain wall velocities for nascent domains are uniquely reported to be up to four times faster than for mature domains with radii greater than approximately 100 nm. Switching times, speeds, and directions are also shown to correlate with local mechanical compliance, with domains preferentially nucleating and growing in compliant sample regions while clearly shunting around locations with higher stiffness. This deterministic switching behavior strongly supports a defect-mediated energy landscape which controls polarization reversal, and that can therefore be predicted, modeled, and even manipulated through composition, processing, and geometry. Such results have important implications for the practical performance of ferroelectric devices by enabling guided optimization of switching times and feature densities, while the methods employed provide a new means to investigate and correlate dynamic functionality with mechanical properties at the nanoscale. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.
PY - 2011
T2 - Journal of Applied Physics
TI - Correlation between nanoscale and nanosecond resolved ferroelectric domain dynamics and local mechanical compliance
VL - 109
SN - 00218979
ER -