Multifunctional self-assembled BaTiO3-Au nanocomposite thin films on flexible mica substrates with tunable optical properties

Abstract Integration of multifunctional hybrid materials with hyperbolic, plasmonic and ferroelectric properties on flexible substrates is of great interest towards future flexible integrated electronic and photonic devices. In this work, the successful integration of BaTiO3-Au hybrid metamaterials on flexible mica substrates has been demonstrated using a one-step pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Tunable optical properties have been achieved by controlling the geometries of the Au nanostructures between nanoparticles and nanopillars by varying the growth temperature. The overall structure and properties of the hybrid materials is stable upon cyclic bending test (more than 1000 bending cycles), evidenced by the robust physical properties and microstructural stability. Furthermore, room temperature ferroelectric property was confirmed by piezoresponse force microscopy mapping. This work demonstrates an effective approach for integrating multifunctional oxide-metal nanocomposites on flexible mica substrate, and paves a way towards future flexible integrated devices.