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Nano Research 2023, 16(2): 3021-3027 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4908-z
Research Article | Issue | Published: 14 September 2022

Local probing of the non-uniform distribution of ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases

Show Author's Information Huimin Qiao1,2,  Fangping Zhuo3( ),  Zhen Liu3,  Jinxing Wang4,  Jeongdae Seo5,  Chenxi Wang1,  Jinho Kang1,  Bin Yang6,  Yunseok Kim1,2( )
School of Advanced Materials and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Research Center for Advanced Materials Technology, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Department of Materials and Earth Sciences, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
Department of Physics, College of Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China
Keywords:
scanning probe microscopy, ferrielectrics, antiferroelectrics, local electromechanical response
Topics:
Atomic force microscopyScanning probe microscopy
Cite this article:
Qiao H, Zhuo F, Liu Z, et al. Local probing of the non-uniform distribution of ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases. Nano Research, 2023, 16(2): 3021-3027. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4908-z
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is an indispensable tool in the investigation of local electromechanical responses and polarization switching. The acquired data provide spatial information on the local disparity of polarization switching and electromechanical responses, making this technique advantageous over macroscopic approaches. Despite its widespread application in ferroelectrics, it has rarely been used to investigate the ferrielectric (FiE) behaviors in antiferroelectric (AFE) materials. Herein, the PFM was utilized to study the local electromechanical behavior and distribution of FiE, and the AFE phases of PbZrO3 thin-film were studied, where only the FiE behavior is observable using a macroscopic approach. The FiE region resembles a ferroelectric material at low voltages but exhibits a unique on-field amplitude response at high voltages. In contrast, the AFE region only yields an observable response at high voltages. Phase-field simulations reveal the coexistence of AFE and FiE states as well as the phase-transition processes that underpin our experimental observations. Our work illustrates the usefulness of PFM as an analytical tool to characterize AFE/FiE materials and their phase-coexistence behavior, thereby providing insights to guide property modification and potential applications.


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Abstract
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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Local probing of the non-uniform distribution of ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases

Show Author's information Huimin Qiao1,2, Fangping Zhuo3( ), Zhen Liu3, Jinxing Wang4, Jeongdae Seo5, Chenxi Wang1, Jinho Kang1, Bin Yang6, Yunseok Kim1,2( )
School of Advanced Materials and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Research Center for Advanced Materials Technology, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Department of Materials and Earth Sciences, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
Department of Physics, College of Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China

Abstract

Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is an indispensable tool in the investigation of local electromechanical responses and polarization switching. The acquired data provide spatial information on the local disparity of polarization switching and electromechanical responses, making this technique advantageous over macroscopic approaches. Despite its widespread application in ferroelectrics, it has rarely been used to investigate the ferrielectric (FiE) behaviors in antiferroelectric (AFE) materials. Herein, the PFM was utilized to study the local electromechanical behavior and distribution of FiE, and the AFE phases of PbZrO3 thin-film were studied, where only the FiE behavior is observable using a macroscopic approach. The FiE region resembles a ferroelectric material at low voltages but exhibits a unique on-field amplitude response at high voltages. In contrast, the AFE region only yields an observable response at high voltages. Phase-field simulations reveal the coexistence of AFE and FiE states as well as the phase-transition processes that underpin our experimental observations. Our work illustrates the usefulness of PFM as an analytical tool to characterize AFE/FiE materials and their phase-coexistence behavior, thereby providing insights to guide property modification and potential applications.

Keywords: scanning probe microscopy, ferrielectrics, antiferroelectrics, local electromechanical response

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 25 April 2022
Revised: 28 July 2022
Accepted: 16 August 2022
Published: 14 September 2022
Issue date: February 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) (No. 2019R1I1A1A01063888) and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2019R1A6A1A03033215). F. P. Z. acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) for the fellowship with award number 1203828, and Z. L. acknowledges the LOEWE program of the State of Hesse, Germany, within the project FLAME (Fermi Level Engineering of Antiferroelectric Materials for Energy Storage and Insulation Systems).

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