title: Structural and electronic transformation pathways in morphotropic BiFeO3.
abstract: Phase boundaries in multiferroics, in which (anti-)ferromagnetic, ferroelectric and ferroelastic order parameters coexist, enable manipulation of magnetism and electronic properties by external electric fields through switching of the polarization in the material. It has been shown that the strain-driven morphotropic phase boundaries in a single-phase multiferroic such as BiFeO3 (BFO) can exhibit distinct electronic conductivity. However, the control of ferroelectric and phase switching and its correlation with phase boundary conductivity in this material has been a significant challenge. Supported by a thermodynamic approach, here we report a concept to precisely control different switching pathways and the associated control of electronic conductivity in mixed phase BFO. This work demonstrates a critical step to control and use non-volatile strain-conductivity coupling at the nanoscale. Beyond this observation, it provides a framework for exploring a route to control multiple order parameters coupled to ferroelastic and ferroelectric order in multiferroic materials.
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Sharma
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Heo
authors: Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors: B-K
authors: BK
authors: Jang
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China.
authors: Y Y
authors: YY
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-2600, USA.
authors: J Y
authors: JY
authors: Li
authors: Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.|Institute for the NanoCentury, KAIST, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors: C-H
authors: CH
authors: Yang
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Seidel