Domains Beyond Grain Boundaries: Domains Beyond the Grain Boundary (Adv. Funct. Mater. 10/2011)

Thin films of inorganic materials are used in diverse applications, typically in polycrystalline form due to their relatively simple production. On page 1827, Yachin Ivry, Colm Durkan, and co-workers discuss the use of enhanced piezoresponse force microscopy to investigate the domain distribution within neighboring grains in thin polycrystalline films of a ferroelectric-ferroelastic system. The domains are organized into areas with a correlated alignment of ferroelastic and ferroelectric domains that span multiple grain boundaries.