Enhancement of Ferroelectricity in Strained BaTiO3 Thin Films

  • Choi, K. J.
  • Biegalski, M.
  • Li, Y. L.
  • Sharan, A.
  • Schubert, J.
  • Uecker, R.
  • Reiche, P.
  • Chen, Y. B.
  • Pan, X. Q.
  • Gopalan, V.
  • Chen, L.-Q.
  • Schlom, D. G.
  • Eom, C. B.

  • 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. 2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. 3Institut für Schichten und Grenzflächen ISG1-IT, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany. 4Institute for Crystal Growth, Max-Born-Straße 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany. 5Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected]

Supporting Online Material: www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5698/1005/DC1; Materials and Methods; Figs. S1 and S2; References

26 July 2004; accepted 6 October 2004

Science 306(5698):p 1005-1009, November 5, 2004.

Biaxial compressive strain has been used to markedly enhance the ferroelectric properties of BaTiO3 thin films. This strain, imposed by coherent epitaxy, can result in a ferroelectric transition temperature nearly 500°C higher and a remanent polarization at least 250% higher than bulk BaTiO3 single crystals. This work demonstrates a route to a lead-free ferroelectric for nonvolatile memories and electro-optic devices.

Copyright © 2004 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
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