Photoinduced Phase Transitions in Ferroelectrics

in PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (2019), 123(8), 087601-6

Ferroic materials naturally exhibit a rich number of functionalities, which often arise from thermally, chemically, or mechanically induced symmetry breakings or phase transitions. Based on density ... [more ▼]

Ferroic materials naturally exhibit a rich number of functionalities, which often arise from thermally, chemically, or mechanically induced symmetry breakings or phase transitions. Based on density functional calculations, we demonstrate here that light can drive phase transitions as well in ferroelectric materials such as the perovskite oxides lead titanate and barium titanate. Phonon analysis and total energy calculations reveal that the polarization tends to vanish under illumination, to favor the emergence of nonpolar phases, potentially antiferroelectric, and exhibiting a tilt of the oxygen octahedra. Strategies to tailor photoinduced phases based on phonon instabilities in the electronic ground state are also discussed. [less ▲]

Rules and mechanisms governing octahedral tilts in perovskites under pressure

in Physical Review. B (2017), 96(5),

The rotation of octahedra (octahedral tilting) is common in ABO(3) perovskites and relevant to many physical phenomena, ranging from electronic and magnetic properties, metal-insulator transitions to ... [more ▼]

The rotation of octahedra (octahedral tilting) is common in ABO(3) perovskites and relevant to many physical phenomena, ranging from electronic and magnetic properties, metal-insulator transitions to improper ferroelectricity. Hydrostatic pressure is an efficient way to tune and control octahedral tiltings. However, the pressure behavior of such tiltings can dramatically differ from one material to another, with the origins of such differences remaining controversial. In this paper we discover several new mechanisms and formulate a set of simple rules that allow us to understand how pressure affects oxygen octahedral tiltings via the use and analysis of first-principles results for a variety of compounds. Besides the known A-O interactions, we reveal that the interactions between specific B ions and oxygen ions contribute to the tilting instability. We explain the previously reported trend that the derivative of the oxygen octahedral tilting with respect to pressure (dR/dP) usually decreases with both the tolerance factor and the ionization state of the A ion by illustrating the key role of A-O interactions and their change under pressure. Furthermore, three new mechanisms/rules are discovered, namely that (i) the octahedral rotations in ABO(3) perovskites with empty low-lying d states on the B site are greatly enhanced by pressure, in order to lower the electronic kinetic energy; (ii) dR/dP is enhanced when the system possesses weak tilt instabilities, and (iii) for the most common phase exhibited by perovskites-the orthorhombic Pbnm state-the in-phase and antiphase octahedral rotations are not automatically both suppressed or both enhanced by the application of pressure because of a trilinear coupling between these two rotation types and an antipolar mode involving the A ions. We further predict that the polarization associated with the so-called hybrid improper ferroelectricity could be manipulated by hydrostatic pressure by indirectly controlling the amplitude of octahedral rotations. [less ▲]

Multiple strain-induced phase transitions in LaNiO3 thin films

in Physical Review. B (2016), 94(1),

Strain effects on epitaxial thin films of LaNiO3 grown on different single crystalline substrates are studied by Raman scattering and first-principles simulation. New Raman modes, not present in bulk or ... [more ▼]

Strain effects on epitaxial thin films of LaNiO3 grown on different single crystalline substrates are studied by Raman scattering and first-principles simulation. New Raman modes, not present in bulk or fully relaxed films, appear under both compressive and tensile strains indicating symmetry reductions. Interestingly, the Raman spectra and the underlying crystal symmetry for tensile and compressively strained films are different. Extensive mapping of LaNiO3 phase stability is addressed by simulations, showing that a variety of crystalline phases are indeed stabilized under strain. The calculated Raman frequencies reproduce the principal features of the experimental spectra, supporting the validity of the multiple strain-driven structural transitions predicted by the simulations. [less ▲]