Structural transitions and complex domain structures across a ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase boundary in epitaxial Sm-doped BiFeO3 thin films

C. J. Cheng*, D. Kan, S. H. Lim, W. R. McKenzie, P. R. Munroe, L. G. Salamanca-Riba, R. L. Withers, I. Takeuchi, V. Nagarajan

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    176 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We have investigated structural phase transitions across a ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase boundary in epitaxial (001) oriented Bi (1-x) Smx FeO3 thin films. For the Sm3+ concentration of 0.1≤x≤0.14, we observe short-range antiparallel cation displacements, verified by the appearance of localized 1 4 { 011 } weak reflections in the selected area electron diffraction patterns. At the critical composition of x=0.14, the system adopts a complex nanoscale domain mixture with appearance of 1 4 { 011 }, 1 2 { 011 }, 1 2 { 010 }, and 1 2 { 111 } reflections and an incommensurate phase bridging the rhombohedral and orthorhombic phases. For compositions 0.14<x<0.2, orientational twin domains coupled with antiphase oxygen octahedral tilts, identified by 1 2 { hkl } weak superstructure are observed. The above systematic changes in the microstructure as a function of Sm3+ doping are linked to the macroscopic functional properties.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number014109
    JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
    Volume80
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 6 Aug 2009

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