journal article·2025-04-08

Defect and Strain Engineering Coenhanced Nanoscale Ferroelectricity in SrTiO3 Thin Films

Chao Chen, Caiwen Li, Jiangxiao Li, Han Gao, Jingtian Zhou, Zhen Wang, Xiangbin Cai, Guofeng Liang, Xiaozhe Yin, Zhibang Shen, Jinhui Yu, Zedong Xu, Minghui Qin, Xubing Lu, Lang Chen, Ning Wang, Ye Zhu, Yu Chen, Guofu Zhou, Xingsen Gao, Yibo Han, Zhenlin Luo, Jun-Ming Liu, Deyang Chen

ACS Nano· Volume 19· Issue 13
Publisher page

Abstract

Tensile biaxial strain has been demonstrated to induce in-plane ferroelectricity in SrTiO 3 thin films at room temperature. However, out-of-plane ferroelectricity is more favorable for electronic device applications. Here, we report the achievement of room-temperature out-of-plane ferroelectric SrTiO 3 thin films with giant tetragonality ( c / a ∼ 1.061) and an ultrahigh ferroelectric stablity temperature (>1000 K) through epitaxial strain and defect engineering. Optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) proves that the enhancement of tetragonality enables improved ferroelectricity. Moreover, a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) reveals the origin of enhanced tetragonality and strong ferroelectricity in defect- and strain-codriven supertetragonal SrTiO 3 thin films. Our findings present an approach to material design that can be extended to other material systems for the enhancement of ferroelectricity and the observation of emergent phenomena.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials · Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides · Multiferroics and related materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute for Advanced Materials, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics

South China Normal University

National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory

University of Science and Technology of China

Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center and School of Physics

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Institute of High Energy Physics

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Department of Physics and Center for Quantum Materials, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China

Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Nanyang Technological University

Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China

Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China

Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures

Nanjing University

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province · China Postdoctoral Science Foundation · Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Program key projects · National Natural Science Foundation of China · South China Normal University · Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology

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