The Nature of Polarization Fatigue in BiFeO₃

Abstract

The Nature of polarization fatigue in BiFeO3 was revealed using monodomain epitaxial thin films with different orientations. We have found that the fatigue strongly depends on switching path. Fatigue-free behavior is demonstrated in ferroelastic switching (71° and 109°). In contrast, a significant polarization fatigue occurs in ferroelectric switching (180°) which involves multiple switching paths and formation of charged domain walls that effectively pin domain walls and hence reduce the total switched volume. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.