Elastic distortion determining conduction in BiFeO3 phase boundaries

Autor: Nicolas Bernier, Arunava Gupta, Niall Browne, Aaron B. Naden, Martial Duchamp, Kristina Holsgrove, Amit Kumar, Joseph G. M. Guy, J. Marty Gregg, Miryam Arredondo, M. Sergio Moreno
Přispěvatelé: University of St Andrews. School of Chemistry
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
instacron:CONICET
Holsgrove, K M, Duchamp, M, Moreno, M S, Bernier, N, Naden, A B, Guy, J G M, Browne, N, Gupta, A, Gregg, M, Kumar, A & Arredondo-Arechavala, M 2020, ' Elastic distortion determining conduction in BiFeO3 phase boundaries ', RSC Advances, vol. 10, pp. 27954-27960 . https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ra04358c
Popis: It is now well-established that boundaries separating tetragonal-like (T) and rhombohedral-like (R) phases in BiFeO3 thin films can show enhanced electrical conductivity. However, the origin of this conductivity remains elusive. Here, we study mixed-phase BiFeO3 thin films, where local populations of T and R can be readily altered using stress and electric fields. We observe that phase boundary electrical conductivity in regions which have undergone stress-writing is significantly greater than in the virgin microstructure. We use high-end electron microscopy techniques to identify key differences between the R-T boundaries present in stress-written and as-grown microstructures, to gain a better understanding of the mechanism responsible for electrical conduction. We find that point defects (and associated mixed valence states) are present in both electrically conducting and non-conducting regions; crucially, in both cases, the spatial distribution of defects is relatively homogeneous: there is no evidence of phase boundary defect aggregation. Atomic resolution imaging reveals that the only significant difference between non-conducting and conducting boundaries is the elastic distortion evident-detailed analysis of localised crystallography shows that the strain accommodation across the R-T boundaries is much more extensive in stress-written than in as-grown microstructures; this has a substantial effect on the straightening of local bonds within regions seen to electrically conduct. This work therefore offers distinct evidence that the elastic distortion is more important than point defect accumulation in determining the phase boundary conduction properties in mixed-phase BiFeO3. This journal is Fil: Holsgrove, Kristina M.. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda Fil: Duchamp, Martial. Ernst Ruska-centre For Microscopy And Spectroscopy With Electrons; Alemania. Nanyang Technological University; Singapur Fil: Moreno, Mario Sergio Jesus. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Bariloche | Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología - Nodo Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Bernier, Nicolas. Universite Grenoble Alpes; Francia Fil: Naden, Aaron B.. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda. University of St. Andrews; Reino Unido Fil: Guy, Joseph G. M.. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda Fil: Browne, Niall. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda Fil: Gupta, Arunava. University Of Alabama; Estados Unidos Fil: Gregg, J. Marty. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda Fil: Kumar, Amit. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda Fil: Arredondo, Miryam. The Queens University of Belfast; Irlanda
Databáze: OpenAIRE