Domains and Phase Transitions in Curved Ferroelectrics

Strain engineering, combined with simultaneous control of electrostatic boundary conditions, has proven to be a highly successful approach for uncovering fascinating complex polar textures and tuning the properties of ferroelectric multilayers and superlattices. However, the substrate clamping associated with conventional strain engineering is also responsible for reducing the electromechanical response of such structures, as well as suppressing another useful degree of freedom – macroscopic curvature. Free-standing epitaxial heterostructures that are free from their underlying substrate offer a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of macroscopic curvature on the behavior of thin-film ferroelectrics. This talk will focus on the complex domain structures in flat and curved free-standing ferroelectric superlattices, their response to mechanical deformation, and their evolution with temperature across the ferroelectric phase transition.