ZUBKO1 |
Ferroelectricity
and the nanoscale: the role of domains and domain walls |
Type |
Experimental |
#students |
2 |
Orientation |
Ferroelectrics are crystalline materials that have
a spontaneous electrical polarisation whose direction can be reversed by
applying an external electric field. Their outstanding piezoelectric,
pyroelectric and dielectric properties make them extremely useful and have
led to a multitude of technological applications ranging from submarine
sonars and medical ultrasound to thermal cameras, optoelectronic components
and non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories. The ever growing need
for device miniaturisation, as well as new device concepts that require
robust ferroelectrics with a thickness of just a few nanometres, are
currently motivating a lot of interest in ferroelectricity at the nanoscale,
where the properties of these materials can be very different and are often
dominated by the behaviour of ferroelectric domains and domain walls. |
How |
These
projects will focus on different aspects of ferroelectricity in oxide
superlattices consisting of alternating ultra-thin layers of ferroelectric
and non-ferroelectric oxides, with a particular emphasis on the static and
dynamic properties of nanoscale domains and the functional properties of
ferroelectric domain walls. |
What |
The
projects will involve growth of artificially-layered oxide materials using
radio-frequency off-axis magnetron sputtering and/or their characterisation
using X-ray diffraction, dielectric impedance spectroscopy and other
experimental techniques. |
Special Knowledge |
|
Supervisor |
Dr Pavlo Zubko, p.zubko@ucl.ac.uk |