title: Nanoscale mechanical softening of morphotropic BiFeO3.
abstract: Mechanical switching can be used to form phase-transformed areas in mixed-phase bismuth ferrite thin films, which might be exploited to yield various soft elastic areas with greatly reduced Young's modulus on the nanoscale. Due to the mechanically susceptible nature of morphotropic phase boundaries in multiferroics, combined elastic control of electronic, magnetic, and ferroelectric properties becomes possible.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW,, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Yooun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Byong-Kweon
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Seung Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chan-Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seidel
keywords: elastic properties; ferroelectrics; morphotropic phase boundary; multiferroics; phase transitions