Electrical Conduction of Ferroelectric Domains and Domain Walls in Polycrystalline BiFeO3 and Bi5Ti3FeO15 Thin Films
Abstract
The unique properties of domain wall conductivity have garnered significant interest for their potential application in non-volatile ferroelectric domain wall memory. In this study, we investigated the electrical conduction within ferroelectric domains and domain walls of polycrystalline BiFeO3 (BFO) and Bi5Ti3FeO15 (BTFO) thin films, which were deposited on Pt/Ta/glass substrates via pulsed laser deposition. BFO thin film consistently demonstrated a (111) orientation, while BTFO thin film exhibited mixed crystallinity, featuring both c-axis and a-axis orientations. This mixed crystallinity in BTFO thin film contributed to a higher remanent polarization of 38.2 μC/cm2 compared to 20.3 μC/cm2 in BFO thin film, which is attributed to the a-oriented crystallinity within the Bi-layered perovskite structure of BTFO thin film. Additionally, BTFO thin film displayed a greater prevalence of 90° domain walls, which enhanced electrical conduction due to charge accumulation, particularly when compared to 180° domain walls. A significant change in resistance was observed when the domain wall was present versus absent, with a more pronounced effect in the BTFO capacitor compared to the BFO capacitor. This is attributed to the higher domain wall conductivity in BTFO thin film, confirming their superiority for use in ferroelectric capacitor devices that leverage domain wall conductivity.
Recommended Citation
Y. Ahn et al., "Electrical Conduction of Ferroelectric Domains and Domain Walls in Polycrystalline BiFeO3 and Bi5Ti3FeO15 Thin Films," Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, vol. 196, article no. 112347, Elsevier, Jan 2025.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpcs.2024.112347
Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
Bi Ti FeO thin film 5 3 15; BiFeO thin film 3; Conduction; Domain wall; Ferroelectric capacitor
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1879-2553; 0022-3697
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2025
Comments
National Research Foundation of Korea, Grant None