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Keynote Talk

Prof. Ranjith Ramadurai

IIT Hyderabad, India

Polarization orientation mapping in Ferroelectric thin films and tunability of the same through External Strain and Magnetic Fields

 

The presence of significant strain-polarization coupling that exists in ferroelectric materials, facilitates tuning the strain conditions and also serves as an effective strategy for tailoring the ferroelectric properties in thin films. In this talk the major focus would be on the lead-free (1-x)(Ba,Ca)TiO3-xBZrTiO3(BCZT)solid solution, in the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB)composition. An externally induced strain gradient in a polycrystalline film of the BCZT thin films using a novel 3 point bending stage under the scanning probe microscope will be presented and discussed. The results pertaining to strain gradient induced structural transformation in MPB phases of BCZT thin films will be presented. The Polarization components would be derived from the electrical signal and polarization vector mapping of the piezo response force microscope (PFM) and the respective domains in both epitaxial and polycrystalline layers of BCZT will be discussed. The utilization of data analysis for creation of a polarization microstructure based on its orientation with respect to the film surfaces will be discussed. In addition, the polarization imaging of the ferroelectric domains in a magneto-electric nanocomposite in the presence of a magnetic field will be discussed.

Keywords: Ferroelectrics, PFM, lead-free piezoelectric, BCZT & Structural transformations