Ferroelectrics and multiferroics articles within Nature Materials

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  • Article |

    The authors report coexisting ferromagnetism, polar distortion and metallicity in quasi-two-dimensional Ca3Co3O8, providing a platform to exploit magnetoelectric coupling in a metallic system.

    • Jianbing Zhang
    • , Shengchun Shen
    •  & Pu Yu

  • Research Briefing |

    Electrocaloric effects have not hitherto been experimentally studied at a phase transition created by strain. It is now shown that the continuous transition created by epitaxial strain in strontium titanate films greatly enhances electrocaloric effects over a wide range of temperatures, including room temperature.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrocaloric effects are large in a limited set of materials that display hysteretic first-order phase transitions. Here epitaxial SrTiO3 thin films are strain engineered to achieve anhysteretic second-order phase transitions, with electrocaloric effects enhanced by one order of magnitude over bulk.

    • S. Zhang
    • , J. Deliyore-Ramírez
    •  & N. D. Mathur

  • Letter |

    Multiferroics can possess multiple ferroic orders, for example, electric polarization and magnetism, and are of interest for new device applications. Here thermal control is shown to manipulate electric and magnetic orders in a single-phase quasi-two-dimensional halide perovskite.

    • Tong Zhu
    • , Xue-Zeng Lu
    •  & Hiroshi Kageyama

  • News & Views |

    By forming a heterostructure interface, and by judicious choice of crystallographic orientation, piezoelectrics are developed that show expansion or contraction along all axes on application of an electric field.

    • Eugene A. Eliseev
    •  & Anna N. Morozovska

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Piezoelectrics have longitudinal and transverse piezoelectric coefficients that are opposite in sign. Here, by tuning the interface inversion asymmetry in heterostructures, auxetic systems with positive longitudinal and transverse coefficients are realized, with expansion or contraction along all directions in an electric field.

    • Ming-Min Yang
    • , Tian-Yuan Zhu
    •  & Marin Alexe

  • News & Views |

    By inserting an epitaxial in-plane buffer layer of Bi5FeTi3O15, an artificial flux closure architecture enables ferroelectric polarization from a single unit cell of BaTiO3 or BiFeO3.

    • Neus Domingo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ferroelectric dead layers can form at perovskite interfaces—a major challenge in integrating oxide thin films into devices. Here, by depositing an in-plane-polarized epitaxial buffer layer of Bi5FeTi3O15, out-of-plane polarization is demonstrated in ultrathin films down to the single-unit-cell level.

    • Elzbieta Gradauskaite
    • , Quintin N. Meier
    •  & Morgan Trassin

  • News & Views |

    Piezoresponse microscopy and spectroscopy reveal the inextricable role of surface electrochemistry in stabilizing and controlling ferroelectricity in doped hafnia.

    • Xia Hong

  • Article |

    Ferroelectricity in hafnia-based systems seems to be correlated with oxygen vacancy dynamics, but the coupling of this and ferroelectric response is rarely studied. Here it is shown that Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 can be antiferroionic, with antiferroelectric behaviour coupled to surface electrochemistry.

    • Kyle P. Kelley
    • , Anna N. Morozovska
    •  & Sergei V. Kalinin

  • News & Views |

    Detailed transmission electron microscopy imaging of the dynamics of domain walls in twisted van der Waals ferroelectrics is obtained, capturing the transition to a hysteretic response.

    • Moshe Ben Shalom

  • Research Briefing |

    The output mechanical energy densities of ferroelectric polymers remain orders of magnitude smaller than those of piezoelectric ceramics and crystals, limiting their applications in soft actuators. But polymer composites subject to an electro-thermally driven ferroelectric phase transition under low electric fields are now shown to have giant actuation strains and large energy densities.

  • Article |

    Piezoelectric actuators play a critical role in precision positioning devices; however, materials with high actuation strain and mechanical energy density are rare. Here a composite of poly(vinylidene fluoride) and TiO2 demonstrates superior performance in these metrics, with the ferroelectric transition driven by Joule heating.

    • Yang Liu
    • , Yao Zhou
    •  & Qing Wang

  • Editorial |

    Ferroelectrics have already impacted scientific research and commercial applications, but they still show plenty of potential to surprise.

  • Perspective |

    Nanoscale ferroelectric topological solitons, such as polar bubbles, polar bubble skyrmions and hopfions, have garnered immense interest due to their emergent properties. This Perspective discusses how these structures form, advances in their study and how they can enable new devices and physics.

    • Vivasha Govinden
    • , Sergei Prokhorenko
    •  & Nagarajan Valanoor

  • Letter
    | Open Access

    Cubic materials such as GeTe have low lattice thermal conductivity, thought to arise from a non-cubic local structural transition. Here, using a variable-shutter pair distribution function method, the average structure is shown to be crystalline but with anisotropic dynamics at higher temperatures.

    • Simon A. J. Kimber
    • , Jiayong Zhang
    •  & Simon J. L. Billinge

  • Research Briefing |

    When BiFeO3 layers are confined between TbScO3 layers in an epitaxial superlattice, crystallographically orthogonal voltages can induce reversible, non-volatile switching between polar and antipolar states in BiFeO3. This symmetry switch also leads to marked changes in the nonlinear optical response, piezoresponse and resistivity of the system.

  • Perspective |

    Research on two-dimensional van der Waals ferroelectrics has witnessed an explosion over the past few years. This Perspective formulates a framework by which results can be analysed, reviews recent progress, discusses mechanisms and properties for applications, and outlines challenges to be addressed.

    • Chuanshou Wang
    • , Lu You
    •  & Junling Wang

  • Article |

    Electric fields typically break symmetry when applied as a stimulus to materials. Here, by forming a superlattice of BiFeO3 and TbScO3, it is shown that an electric field can repeatedly stabilize mixed-phase polar and antipolar BiFeO3.

    • Lucas Caretta
    • , Yu-Tsun Shao
    •  & Ramamoorthy Ramesh

  • Letter
    | Open Access

    Negative capacitance (NC) is a promising route towards low-power electronics. Here, a theory clarifying the connection between NC and voltage amplification is presented, and it is predicted that incipient ferroelectric states that do not necessarily maximize NC can result in a tenfold voltage amplification.

    • Mónica Graf
    • , Hugo Aramberri
    •  & Jorge Íñiguez

  • Article |

    Two-dimensional materials can present ferroelectricity by layer sliding, but electrical confirmation is lacking due to narrow bandgaps. Here, a single-crystal coordination polymer with large bandgap enabling direct electrical measurement of P–E hysteresis is shown to present sliding ferroelectricity.

    • Le-Ping Miao
    • , Ning Ding
    •  & Yi Zhang

  • News & Views |

    Observation of large remnant polarization in epitaxial yttrium-doped hafnium oxide thin films demonstrates that small-grained or ultrathin microstructures are not required to achieve robust ferroelectric behaviour.

    • Jeffrey A. Eastman

  • Article |

    Hafnium dioxide is of technological interest as it is compatible with silicon; however, previous work indicates that a nanometre grain size is required to generate ferroelectricity. Here ferroelectric Y-doped HfO2 thin films with high crystallinity are grown with large crystal grain sizes, indicating that ferroelectricity is intrinsic.

    • Yu Yun
    • , Pratyush Buragohain
    •  & Xiaoshan Xu

  • News & Views |

    Sub-100-mV switching at the nanosecond timescale is achieved in ferroelectric devices by approaching bulk-like perfection in prototypical BaTiO3 thin films.

    • Morgan Trassin
    •  & Vincent Garcia

  • Article |

    Thin films of BaTiO3 do not possess the same small switching fields and energies as the single-crystal form, hindering applications. Here, thin films are synthesized that enable switching for voltages <100 mV and fields <10 kV cm–1, and a pathway to subnanosecond switching is presented.

    • Y. Jiang
    • , E. Parsonnet
    •  & L. W. Martin

  • News & Views |

    Using group theory and first principles calculations, it is shown that an analogue of the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction that allows the antisymmetric exchange spin coupling in magnets exists in ferroelectrics.

    • Javier Junquera

  • News & Views |

    Ferroelectricity in bulk crystals of hafnium oxide demonstrates that these properties are not limited to films prepared by thin-film deposition techniques.

    • Thomas Mikolajick
    •  & Uwe Schroeder

  • Article |

    Hafnia ferroelectrics are of industrial interest owing to their compatibility with silicon-based electronics, but the ferroelectricity only exists in nanoscale films. Here, using a floating zone growth approach, ferroelectricity in bulk Y-doped hafnia is demonstrated.

    • Xianghan Xu
    • , Fei-Ting Huang
    •  & Sang-Wook Cheong

  • News & Views |

    Large reversible shear strain has been achieved by electric-field-driven bipolar switching in a hybrid ferroelectric, facilitating development of shape-memory-type actuators with outstanding figures of merit.

    • Sarah Guerin
    •  & Damien Thompson

  • Article |

    Ferroelectric superlattices can present a rich variety of phenomena. Here, in PbTiO3/SrRuO3 superlattices, it is shown that a complex and stable hierarchical supercrystal can form, with the correlated metal of the SrRuO3 layers showing large curvatures.

    • Marios Hadjimichael
    • , Yaqi Li
    •  & Pavlo Zubko

  • Article |

    Polar skyrmions are topologically protected structures that can exist in (PbTiO3)n/(SrTiO3)n superlattices. Here, it is shown that they have negative permittivity at the surface, and that they can undergo a reversible phase transition with large dielectric tunability under an electric field.

    • S. Das
    • , Z. Hong
    •  & R. Ramesh

  • Article |

    The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) enables coupling of magnetic spins and is responsible for non-collinear phenomena such as skyrmions. Here, using first-principles simulations and group theory analysis, it is demonstrated that an electric DMI exists and is analogous to the magnetic DMI.

    • Hong Jian Zhao
    • , Peng Chen
    •  & Laurent Bellaiche

  • News & Views |

    A crystallographic brick wall design for polycrystalline dielectric ceramics now allows the application of high electric fields at minimal misfit strain, yielding supreme reliability and high energy density.

    • Jürgen Rödel

  • News & Views |

    The generation of charge-neutral anti-Frenkel defects in a complex transition metal oxide provides a useful pathway for controlling electronic conductivity while minimizing the impact on existing functions.

    • Ji Soo Lim
    •  & Chan-Ho Yang

  • Article |

    Combining quantum effects with conductivity modulation in complex oxides requires mutually exclusive criteria, making applications difficult. Using tip-induced electrical generation of anti-Frenkel defects, conducting features in Er(Mn,Ti)O3 are written with nanoscale precision while keeping structural integrity.

    • Donald M. Evans
    • , Theodor S. Holstad
    •  & Dennis Meier

  • Letter |

    The integration of barium titanate thin films with silicon-based waveguides enables the operation of efficient electro-optic switches and modulators at temperatures as low as 4 K, with potential applications in quantum computing and cryogenic computing technologies.

    • Felix Eltes
    • , Gerardo E. Villarreal-Garcia
    •  & Stefan Abel

  • Article |

    The energy density of dielectric ceramic capacitors is limited by low breakdown fields. Here, by considering the anisotropy of electrostriction in perovskites, it is shown that <111>-textured Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3–Sr0.7Bi0.2TiO3 ceramics can sustain higher electrical fields and achieve an energy density of 21.5 J cm−3.

    • Jinglei Li
    • , Zhonghui Shen
    •  & Fei Li

  • Article |

    Merons are topological structures, but these have yet to be directly observed in ferroelectrics. Here, by epitaxially straining PbTiO3 on a SmScO3 substrate, electron microscopy and phase-field modelling allow the morphology and distribution of merons to be observed.

    • Y. J. Wang
    • , Y. P. Feng
    •  & X. L. Ma

  • Letter |

    Flexoelectricity is the ability of materials to generate electricity upon bending. Here it is demonstrated that adding light to mechanical oscillation enhances effective flexoelectric coefficients by orders of magnitude, with the halide perovskites showing the largest coefficients.

    • Longlong Shu
    • , Shanming Ke
    •  & Gustau Catalan

  • News & Views |

    Skyrmions emerging from complex order offer superior stability and functionality for data processing and storage, but creating such objects is intrinsically difficult. Homochiral electric and antiferromagnetic structures at the domain walls of a room-temperature multiferroic are now observed.

    • Enrico Schierle

  • Editorial |

    Ferroelectricity was experimentally discovered one hundred years ago, spurring research on its fundamental properties and potential applications.

  • Article |

    Strain can modify properties, but to prevent cracking is limited to films below a critical thickness. Here, by inserting atomic layers into a ferroelectric superlattice, chemical pressure is generated in thicker films, with enhanced figure of merit for tuneable millimetre-wave dielectrics.

    • Natalie M. Dawley
    • , Eric J. Marksz
    •  & Darrell G. Schlom

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