No clear evidence of ferroelectric order in tensile-strained anatase-TiO2 thin films grown on (110) NdGaO3 substrates

TL;DR

This study investigates the presence of ferroelectric order in tensile-strained anatase-TiO2 thin films and finds no conclusive evidence supporting ferroelectricity as previously reported.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive analysis using X-ray diffraction, SHG, and infrared methods, challenging earlier claims of ferroelectricity in these films.

Findings

No SHG signal indicative of ferroelectricity

No anomaly in lattice parameters near the expected Curie temperature

Phonon frequencies show minimal shift under strain

Abstract

Very recently there was a report of the discovery using piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) of a switchable ferroelectric polarization in 1.6 % tensile strained TiO2 thin film with anatase crystal structure (see N. Deepak et al. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2014, 24, 2844). The polarization disappeared only above 450 K, which was assigned as a Curie temperature, Tc. Here we have performed X-ray diffraction, second-harmonic generation (SHG) and infrared investigations of the same films. Phonon frequencies exhibit less than a 10 % shift down with the tensile strain and no anomaly near expected TC. SHG experiment did not reveal any signal characteristic for inversion symmetry breaking, as expected in ferroelectric phase, and the c-lattice parameter exhibits no anomaly on heating near expected TC. Based on these results, we can summarize that we were not able to confirm the previously discovered ferroelectricity in tensile-strained anatase-TiO2 thin films.