Direct Observation of Large Flexoelectric Bending at the Nanoscale in Lanthanide Scandates

TL;DR

This paper reports the first direct nanoscale observation of large flexoelectric bending in DyScO3, revealing a higher-than-expected flexocoupling voltage and advancing understanding of flexoelectric effects.

Contribution

It provides the first direct nanoscale measurement of flexoelectric bending in DyScO3 and compares it with independent measurements, highlighting discrepancies with existing models.

Findings

Observed large flexoelectric bending in DyScO3 at the nanoscale.

Measured flexocoupling voltage of -42 V, higher than current models predict.

Validated observations with ex-situ flexoelectric coefficient measurements.

Abstract

Large bending of materials can occur at the nanoscale in response to an electric polarization, what is called the flexoelectric effect, but to date this has not been observed directly. We report the direct observation of large flexoelectric bending in [110] oriented DyScO3 inside an electron microscope. We corroborate these observations with independent ex-situ measurements of the flexoelectric coefficient with a three-point bending setup. The relevant flexocoupling voltage was measured to be -42(2) V, which is higher than expected based upon current flexoelectric models.