Interplay between Ca- and Ti-driven ferroelectric distortions in (Ba, Ca)TiO 3 solid solutions from first-principles calculations

Danila Amoroso (1, 2) , Andres Cano (3, 2) , Philippe Ghosez (1)

1 Université de Liège
2 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
3 NEEL - TMC - Théorie de la Matière Condensée

(Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O3 solid solutions are promising lead-free piezoelectrics near their polymorphic phase boundary, which is believed to be linked to the interplay between B-site driven ferroelectricity and A-site driven ferroelectricity. Focusing on (Ba,Ca)TiO3, we support this picture from first-principles calculations. In particular, we show how steric effects related to the partial substitution of Ba by Ca largely enhance the Ca-driven ferroelectricity, already virtually allowed in the parent CaTiO3. The emergent interplay between the Ca-driven and Ti-driven mechanisms lowers the energy barrier between different polar states, which eventually results in a quasi-isotropic polarization under substitution of a small concentration of Ba by Ca. A sizeable enhancement of the piezoelectric response directly results from these features.

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Matière Condensée [cond-mat]; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Matériaux

Danila Amoroso, Andres Cano, Philippe Ghosez. Interplay between Ca- and Ti-driven ferroelectric distortions in (Ba, Ca)TiO 3 solid solutions from first-principles calculations. Applied Physics Letters, 2019, 114 (9), pp.092902. ⟨10.1063/1.5065655⟩. ⟨hal-02057208⟩