Tunable Superdomain with Enhanced Photoelectrical Performance in Epitaxial (101)-PZT

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

¹Physics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

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

Techniques for data storage and acquisition, such as USB flash drive or cloud drive, are widely used nowadays. As the applications of the memory devices become more and more comprehensive, multiferroic materials with nonvolatile characteristics and various functionality have potential for designing novel electronics. In this study, we demonstrate the reversible manipulation of (101)-orientated PbZr₀.₂Ti₀.₈O₃ (PZT), a functional material with remarkable ferroelectricity and exotic structure of tetragonal-matrix (T-matrix) combining superdomains, by electric fields. To further investigate the polarization dynamics and photocurrent switching properties, we adopt piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), conductive atomic force microscopy (cAFM), and photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurement to reveal the electrical property variation. We confirm the polarization arrangement by vector-PFM and discover the metastable state which corresponds to the ferroelastic domain switching process. The time-resolved I-V measurements are then performed to distinguish the extraordinary phase transition depending on the pulsed voltage duration. The greater photocurrent of superdomains than typical c/a domains are found with ultraviolet light illumination by adopting both cAFM and PEC measurements. Consequently, this study provides a new strain-mediated mechanism of multiferroic material with extraordinary electrical properties for building nonvolatile memory devices.

Keywords: Lead zirconate titanate, Photoelectrochemical measurement, Superdomain structures