Domain Structures in Confined Nanoferroelectrics: Phase Field Approach

TL;DR

This paper uses phase field modeling to analyze domain structures in nanoferroelectrics, revealing how electrostatic interactions influence domain wall formation and demonstrating the method's effectiveness compared to atomistic calculations.

Contribution

It introduces a phase field approach to study domain configurations in nanoferroelectrics, highlighting the impact of electrostatic interactions on domain wall formation.

Findings

Electrostatic interactions can induce 90° domain walls that violate strain compatibility.

Phase field results align well with atomistic calculations.

Electrostatic and elastic energy ratios significantly influence domain structures.

Abstract

Phase field modeling of domain structures in ferroelectrics nanorods of different shape and sizes is presented. The vortex domain configurations in confined ferroelectrics have been explored by varying the ratio of the energies of electrostatic and elastic interactions. It is shown that a strong effect of the electrostatic interactions can cause the formation of 90o domain walls that do not satisfy the condition of strain compatibility. A good agreement between the results of phase field modeling and the results of atomistic calculations for nano ferroelectrics demonstrates that the phase field approach provides an effective tool for the analysis of domain structures in nano-ferroelectrics.