Premium
Atomic Structure of Domain and Interphase Boundaries in Ferroelectric HfO 2
Author(s) -
Grimley Everett D.,
Schenk Tony,
Mikolajick Thomas,
Schroeder Uwe,
LeBeau James M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201701258
Subject(s) - materials science , interphase , orthorhombic crystal system , grain boundary , ferroelectricity , substructure , condensed matter physics , phase (matter) , crystallography , phase boundary , perovskite (structure) , monoclinic crystal system , transmission electron microscopy , nanotechnology , microstructure , crystal structure , composite material , optoelectronics , physics , chemistry , genetics , structural engineering , quantum mechanics , dielectric , engineering , biology
Though ferroelectric HfO 2 thin films are now well characterized, little is currently known about their grain substructure. In particular, the formation of domain and phase boundaries requires investigation to better understand phase stabilization, switching, and phase interconversion. Here, scanning transmission electron microscopy is applied to investigate the atomic structure of boundaries in these materials. It is found that orthorhombic/orthorhombic domain walls and coherent orthorhombic/monoclinic interphase boundaries form throughout individual grains. The results inform how interphase boundaries can impose strain conditions that may be key to phase stabilization. Moreover, the atomic structure near interphase boundary walls suggests potential for their mobility under bias, which has been speculated to occur in perovskite morphotropic phase boundary systems by mechanisms similar to domain boundary motion.