Physical constraint and its consequence for hyperferroelectrics

Abstract

Hyperferroelectricity is a new phenomenon discovered recently [Garrity et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 127601 (2014)]. Based on a fourth-order Ginzburg-Landau energy expansion, we formulate a physical constraint that hyferroelectrics must satisfy. The constraint leads to a nonzero polarization under the open-circuit boundary condition as well as a stable electric state as the minimum of the free energy. The theory further reveals a guide principle on the search for new hyferroelectrics, i.e., they need to have a deep potential well and a small zero-field polarization. In addition, we show that an unstable longitudinal optical phonon is a natural consequence of the constraint. Prototypical ferroelectric BaTiO3, PbTiO3, and KNbO3 do not meet the physical constraint, and are not hyperferroelectrics.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 27, 2014
Source ID
10.1063/1.4900480

Entities

People

  • Huaxiang Fu

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • University of Arkansas

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Operations Research
  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.