arXiv subjects

Daniel Sando

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Sando.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Auto-3DPFM: Automating Polarization-Vector Mapping at the Nanoscale

The functional properties of ferroelectric materials are strongly influenced by ferroelectric polarization orientation; as such, access to consistent and precise characterization of polarization vectors is of substantial importance to ferroelectrics research. Here, we develop a fully automated three-dimensional piezoresponse force microscopy (Auto-3DPFM) technique automating all essential steps in interferometric PFM for 3D polarization vector characterization, including laser alignment, tip calibration and approach, image acquisition, polarization vector reconstruction, and visualization. The automation reduces the experimental burden of ferroelectric polarization vector characterization, while the back-and-forth calibration ensures consistency and reproducibility of 3D polarization reconstruction. An algorithmic workflow is also developed to identify domain walls and calculate their characteristic angles via a spatial vector-angle-difference method, presenting one unique capability enabled by Auto-3DPFM that is not accessible with traditional PFM techniques. Beyond representing a significant step forward in 3D polarization mapping, Auto-3DPFM promises to accelerate discovery via high-throughput and autonomous characterization in ferroelectric materials research. When integrated with machine learning and adaptive sampling strategies in self-driving labs, Auto-3DPFM will serve as a valuable tool for advancing ferroelectric physics and microelectronics development.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Hybrid ferroelectric tunnel junctions: State-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities

Ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) harness the unique combination of ferroelectricity and quantum tunneling, and thus herald new opportunities in next-generation nonvolatile memory technologies. Recent advancements in the fabrication of ultrathin heterostructures have enabled the integration of ferroelectrics with various functional materials, forming hybrid tunneling-diode junctions. These junctions benefit from the modulation of the functional layer/ferroelectric interface through ferroelectric polarization, thus enabling further modalities and functional capabilities than in addition to tunneling electroresistance. This perspective aims to provide in-depth insight into novel physical phenomena of several typical ferroelectric hybrid junctions, ranging from ferroelectric/dielectric, ferroelectric/multiferroic, ferroelectric/superconducting to ferroelectric/2D materials, and finally their expansion into the realm of ferroelectric resonant tunneling diodes (FeRTDs). This latter aspect, i.e., resonant tunneling offers a radically new approach to exploiting tunneling behavior in ferroelectric heterostructures. We discuss examples that have successfully shown room temperature ferroelectric control of parameters such as the resonant peak, tunnel current ratio at peak and negative differential resistance. We conclude the perspective by summarizing the challenges and highlighting the opportunities for the future development of hybrid FTJs with a special emphasis on a new possible type of FeRTD device. The prospects for enhanced performance and expanded functionality ignite tremendous excitement in hybrid FTJs and FeRTDs for future nanoelectronics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Super-R BiFeO$_3$: Epitaxial stabilization of a low-symmetry phase with giant electromechanical response

Piezoelectrics interconvert mechanical energy and electric charge and are widely used in actuators and sensors. The best performing materials are ferroelectrics at a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), where several phases can intimately coexist. Switching between these phases by electric field produces a large electromechanical response. In the ferroelectric BiFeO$_3$, strain can be used to create an MPB-like phase mixture and thus to generate large electric field dependent strains. However, this enhanced response occurs at localized, randomly positioned regions of the film, which potentially complicates nanodevice design. Here, we use epitaxial strain and orientation engineering in tandem - anisotropic epitaxy - to craft a hitherto unavailable low-symmetry phase of BiFeO$_3$ which acts as a structural bridge between the rhombohedral-like and tetragonal-like polymorphs. Interferometric displacement sensor measurements and first-principle calculations reveal that under external electric bias, this phase undergoes a transition to the tetragonal-like polymorph, generating a piezoelectric response enhanced by over 200%, and associated giant field-induced reversible strain. These results offer a new route to engineer giant electromechanical properties in thin films, with broader perspectives for other functional oxide systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

An empirical approach to measuring interface energies in mixed-phase bismuth ferrite

In complex oxide heteroepitaxy, strain engineering is a powerful tool to obtain phases in thin films that may be otherwise unstable in bulk. A successful example of this approach is mixed phase bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) epitaxial thin films. The coexistence of a tetragonal-like (T-like) matrix and rhombohedral-like (R-like) striations provides an enhanced electromechanical response, along with other attractive functional behaviors. In this paper, we compare the energetics associated with two thickness dependent strain relaxation mechanisms in this system: domain walls arising from monoclinic distortion in the T-like phase, and the interphase boundary between the host T-like matrix and tilted R-like phases. Combining x-ray diffraction measurements with scanning probe microscopy, we extract quantitative values using an empirical energy balance approach. The domain wall and phase boundary energies are found to be 113 $\pm$ 21 and 426 $\pm$ 23 mJ.m$^{-2}$, respectively. These numerical estimates will help us realize designer phase boundaries in multiferroics, which possess colossal responses to external stimuli, attractive for a diverse range of functional applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

A multiferroic on the brink: uncovering the nuances of strain-induced transitions in BiFeO$_3$

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO$_3$) is one of the very few known single-phase multiferroic materials. While the bulk compound is rhombohedral (R), the discovery of an epitaxial strain-induced structural transition into a so-called 'super tetragonal-phase' (T-phase) in this material incited a flurry of research activity focused on gaining an understanding of this phase transition and its possible functionalities. This metastable phase of BiFeO$_3$ is also multiferroic, with giant ferroelectric polarization and coexisting antiferromagnetic order, but above all it is the strain relaxation-induced phase mixtures and their outstanding piezoelectric and magnetoelectric responses which continue to intrigue and motivate the physicist and materials scientist communities. Here, we review the research into the T-phase and mixed-phase BiFeO$_3$ system. We begin with a brief summary of the history of the T-phase and an analysis of the structure of the various phases reported in the literature. We then address important questions regarding the symmetry and octahedral rotation patterns and the (as yet underexplored) important role of chemistry in the formation of the metastable T-phase. We follow by describing the phase transitions in this material, and how these may hold promise for large magnetoelectric responses. Finally we point out some experimental challenges inherent to the study of such a system, and potential pathways for how they may be overcome. It is our intention with this work to highlight important issues that, in our opinion, should be carefully considered by the community in order to use this fascinating materials system for a new paradigm of functionality.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗