Lang Chen

Non-volatile memory based on the ferroelectric photovoltaic effect

The quest for a solid state universal memory with high-storage density, high read/write speed, random access and non-volatility has triggered intense research into new materials and novel device architectures. Though the non-volatile memory market is dominated by flash memory now, it has very low operation speed with ~10 μs programming and ~10 ms erasing time. Furthermore, it can only withstand ~105 rewriting cycles, which prevents it from becoming the universal memory. Here we demonstrate that the significant photovoltaic effect of a ferroelectric material, such as BiFeO3 with a band gap in the visible range, can be used to sense the polarization direction non-destructively in a ferroelectric memory. A prototype 16-cell memory based on the cross-bar architecture has been prepared and tested, demonstrating the feasibility of this technique.

Enhanced cooling capacities of ferroelectric materials at morphotropic phase boundaries

The electrocaloric properties of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) epitaxial films and 0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3PbTiO3 (0.7PMN-0.3PT) single crystals are measured and demonstrated enhanced low temperature refrigeration at morphotropic phase boundary compositions. The results reveal large adiabatic cooling figures in ∼260 nm PZT films (11 K in 15 V) and 200 μm thick 0.7PMN-0.3PT single crystals (2.7 K in 240 V) at Curie transition temperatures and secondary cooling peaks at lower temperatures, near critical points. This is a very useful aspect of ferroelectric cooling elements to attain effective cooling over wide range of working temperatures in solid-state devices.

Coexistence of ferroelectric triclinic phases in highly strained BiFeO3 films

The structural evolution of the strain-driven morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in BiFeO3 films has been investigated using synchrotron x-ray diffractometry in conjunction with scanning probe microscopy. Our results demonstrate the existence of mixed-phase regions that are mainly made up of two heavily tilted ferroelectric triclinic phases. Analysis of first-principles computations suggests that these two triclinic phases originate from a phase separation of a single monoclinic state accompanied by elastic matching between the phase-separated states. These first-principle calculations further reveal that the intrinsic piezoelectric response of these two low-symmetry triclinic phases is not significantly large, which thus implies that the ease of phase transition between these two energetically close triclinic phases is likely responsible for the large piezoelectric response found in the BiFeO3 films near its MPB. These findings not only enrich the understandings of the lattice and domain structure of epitaxial BiFeO3 films but may also shed some light on the origin of enhanced piezoelectric response near MPB.

Thickness-dependent magnetism and spin-glass behaviors in compressively strained BiFeO3 thin films

Compressively strained BiFeO3 (BFO) films from 19 to 114 nm are epitaxially grown on LaAlO3 substrates, and their thickness-dependent evolutions of structural and magnetic properties are investigated. Across the morphotropic phase boundary, complex strain relaxation behaviors involving low-symmetry intermediate/bridging phases are observed. The fully strained 38 nm BFO film exhibits a saturation magnetization of ∼28 emu/cm3 at 300 K with a coercivity of 130 Oe while all films show a spin-glass behavior. These findings suggest that tailoring film thickness is effective to suppress the cycloidal magnetic modulation in BFO, leading to magnetic properties different from the bulk counterpart.

Nanoscale domains in strained epitaxial BiFeO3 thin Films on LaSrAlO4 substrate

BiFeO3 thin films with various thicknesses were grown epitaxially on (001) LaSrAlO4 single crystal substrates using pulsed laser deposition. High resolution x-ray diffraction measurements revealed that a tetragonal-like phase with c-lattice constant ∼4.65 A is stabilized by a large misfit strain. Besides, a rhombohedral-like phase with c-lattice constant ∼3.99 A was also detected at film thickness of ∼50 nm and above to relieve large misfit strains. In-plane piezoelectric force microscopy studies showed clear signals and self-assembled nanoscale stripe domain structure for the tetragonal-like regions. These findings suggest a complex picture of nanoscale domain patterns in BiFeO3 thin films subjected to large compressive strains.

Characterization and manipulation of mixed phase nanodomains in highly strained BiFeO3 thin films.

The novel strain-driven morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in highly strained BiFeO(3) thin films is characterized by well-ordered mixed phase nanodomains (MPNs). Through scanning probe microscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, eight structural variants of the MPNs are identified. Detailed polarization configurations within the MPNs are resolved using angular-dependent piezoelectric force microscopy. Guided by the obtained results, deterministic manipulation of the MPNs has been demonstrated by controlling the motion of the local probe. These findings are important for an in-depth understanding of the ultrahigh electromechanical response arising from phase transformation between competing phases, enabling future explorations on the electronic structure, magnetoelectricity, and other functionalities in this new MPB system.

Density functional theory plus U study of vacancy formations in bismuth ferrite

First-principles density functional theory plus U study on the formation enthalpy of BiFeO3 and the intrinsic vacancies was performed. The formation enthalpy of BiFeO3 from oxides is only −0.2 eV, indicating that BiFeO3 could easily decompose into Bi2O3 and Fe2O3 under thermal or electrical stresses. It is found that the vacancy induced local distortions have insignificant effect on the ferroelectric property, thanks to the high stability of the ferroelectric configuration in BiFeO3. Moreover, Bi and Fe vacancies have comparable formation energies, and become dominant in the oxygen rich conditions, leading to p-type conductivity.

General Route to ZnO Nanorod Arrays on Conducting Substrates via Galvanic-cell-based approach

Wurtzite ZnO nanorod exhibits many unique properties, which make it promising for various optoelectronic applications. To grow well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays on various substrates, a seed layer is usually required to improve the density and vertical alignment. The reported works about seedless hydrothermal synthesis either require special substrates, or require external electrical field to enhance the ZnO nucleation. Here, we report a general method for the one-pot synthesis of homogenous and well-aligned ZnO nanorods on common conducting substrates without a seed layer. This method, based on the galvanic-cell structure, makes use of the contact potential between different materials as the driving force for ZnO growth. It is applicable to different conducting substrates at low temperature. More importantly, the as-grown ZnO nanorods show enhanced photoelectric response. This unique large scale low-temperature processing method could be of great importance for the application of ZnO nanostructures.

Systematic variations in structural and electronic properties of BiFeO3 by A-site substitution

Y4 s 2 4p 6 4d 1 5s 2 ,L a 5s 2 5p 6 5d 1 6s 2 , and Sb 5s 2 5p 3 were considered as valence electrons. All calculations were performed with an energy cutoff of 500 eV for the plane wave expansion of the PAW, a 222 Monkhorst Pack grid of k points, and the Fermi-smearing for the Brillouin zone integrations. We used the semiempirical LSDA+U method, where the strong Coulomb repulsion between localized d states is treated by adding a Hubbard-type term U to the effective potential, leading to a better description of the correlation effect in transition-metal oxides. 16 In this study, we used a value of Ueff=6 eVU=6 eV and J=0 eV in the framework of Dudarev’s approach. 17,18

Giant photostriction in organic–inorganic lead halide perovskites

Among the many materials investigated for next-generation photovoltaic cells, organic–inorganic lead halide perovskites have demonstrated great potential thanks to their high power conversion efficiency and solution processability. Within a short period of about 5 years, the efficiency of solar cells based on these materials has increased dramatically from 3.8 to over 20%. Despite the tremendous progress in device performance, much less is known about the underlying photophysics involving charge–orbital–lattice interactions and the role of the organic molecules in this hybrid material remains poorly understood. Here, we report a giant photostrictive response, that is, light-induced lattice change, of >1,200 p.p.m. in methylammonium lead iodide, which could be the key to understand its superior optical properties. The strong photon-lattice coupling also opens up the possibility of employing these materials in wireless opto-mechanical devices.