Publication Type:
Journal ArticleSource:
Physical Review Letters, Volume 100, Number 15 (2008)Keywords:
Built-in fields, defects, Electric field effects, Electrochemical reactions, Hysteresis loops, phase transitions, Pinning centers, Polarization, Polarization reversal, Spectroscopic analysis, thermodynamicsAbstract:
The kinetics and thermodynamics of first order transitions are universally controlled by defects that act as nucleation sites and pinning centers. Here we demonstrate that defect-domain interactions during polarization reversal processes in ferroelectric materials result in a pronounced fine structure in electromechanical hysteresis loops. Spatially resolved imaging of a single defect center in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin film is achieved, and the defect size and built-in field are determined self-consistently from the single-point spectroscopic measurements and spatially resolved images. This methodology is universal and can be applied to other reversible bias-induced transitions including electrochemical reactions. © 2008 The American Physical Society.
Notes:
cited By 69