Multi-Step Ferroelastic Switching with Enhanced Photoelectrical Performance in Superdomain

Sheng-Zhu Ho^1*, Yu-Chen Liu¹, Meng-Xun Xie¹, Yu-Huai Li¹, Ying-Chih Pu², Jan-Chi Yang¹, Yi-Chun Chen¹

¹Physics, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
²Materials Science, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan

* Presenter:Sheng-Zhu Ho, email:bambooho0905@gmail.com

Pb(ZrxTi-x)O₃ (PZT) is a room-temperature tetragonal ferroelectric material with remarkable piezoelectricity and complex domain structures which exhibit both ferroelectric and ferroelastic properties. In this work, we construct a broad picture of ferroelectric properties, photoelectric behaviors, and multiple manipulating pathways of the strained (110)-oriented superdomain PZT. We adopt piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and conductive AFM (cAFM) to obtain the three-dimensional polarization arrangements with the nature of the conductive charge domain walls in this novel superdomain structure. We demonstrated the enhanced photoactivity at the head-side charged domain walls with a reduction of bandgap leading by the band bending effect. Moreover, an enhancement of photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was also shown in superdomain structures compared to typical c/a domain PZT. Finally, we utilized time-dependent pulse voltages to measure the switching current within a millisecond and achieve direct or multi-step switching for distinct polarization state manipulation. The understanding of the photoelectrical mechanism and the multiple pathways of controlling an intermediate state allow the superdomain PZT to become a candidate for building functional photoelectronic devices.

Keywords: Lead zirconate titanate, Superdomain structures, Photoelectrochemical measurement