Behaviors of 90° and 180° Domain Walls under c-axis Polarization Switching in Ferroelectric Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ Single Crystals

Abstract

  We present the behaviors of 90° and 180° domain walls under applying an electric field along the c axis in monoclinic Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ crystals. Piezoresponse force microscope investigations taking into account the two spontaneous polarization (P_s) components along the a (P_s(a)) and c (P_s(c)) axes reveal that 90° domain walls composed of the P_s(a) component impede the switching of the P_s(c) domains, leading to a lower remanent polarization along the c axis. 180° domain walls are found to be transformed from a curved configuration into a faceted configuration. These behaviors of P_s(a) domain walls raise the possibility of achieving material design using domain engineering for piezoelectric and optical applications of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂