Direct measurement of the local electrocaloric effect in 2D ferroelectric In${}_2$Se${}_3$ by Scanning Electrocaloric Thermometry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel high-resolution technique called Scanning Electrocaloric Thermometry for directly measuring local electrocaloric effects in 2D materials, overcoming limitations of indirect methods and enabling nanoscale characterization.

Contribution

The study presents a new direct measurement method for local electrocaloric effects in nanomaterials, specifically applied to 2D In${}_2$Se${}_3$, with enhanced spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Findings

Successful measurement of local electrocaloric effect in 2D In${}_2$Se${}_3$

Enhanced sensitivity through AC excitation technique

Ability to distinguish electrocaloric effect from Joule heating

Abstract

The electrocaloric effect refers to the temperature change in a material when an electric field is applied or removed. Significant breakthroughs revealed its potential for solid-state cooling technologies in past decades. These devices offer a sustainable alternative to traditional vapor compression refrigeration, with advantages such as compactness, silent operation, and the absence of moving parts or refrigerants. Electrocaloric effects are typically studied using indirect methods using polarization data, and which suffer from inaccuracies related to assumptions about heat capacity. Direct methods, although more precise, require device fabrication and face challenges in studying meso- or nanoscale systems, like 2D materials, and materials with non-uniform polarization textures where high spatial resolution is required. In this study, a novel technique, Scanning Electrocaloric Thermometry, is introduced for characterizing the local electrocaloric effect in nanomaterials. This approach achieves high spatial resolution by locally applying electric fields and by simultaneously measuring the resulting temperature change. By employing AC excitation, the measurement sensitivity is further enhanced and the electrocaloric effect is disentangled from other heating mechanisms such as Joule heating and dielectric losses. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated by examining electrocaloric and heat dissipation phenomena in two-dimensional In${}_2$Se${}_3$ micrometer-sized flakes.