Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire models are used to explore ferroelectric phases and pyroelectric coefficients of symmetric free-standing, thin-film trilayer heterostructures composed of a ferroelectric and two identical non-ferroelectric layers. Using BaTiO3 as a model ferroelectric, we explore the influence of temperature, in-plane misfit strain, and the non-ferroelectric layer (including effects of elastic compliance and volume fraction) on the phase evolution in the ferroelectric. The resulting phase diagram reveals six stable phases, two of which are not observed for thin films on semi-infinite cubic substrates. From there, we focus on heterostructures with non-ferroelectric layers of commonly available scandate materials which are widely used as substrates for epitaxial growth. Again, six phases with volatile phase boundaries are found in the phase diagram for the NdScO3/BaTiO3/NdScO3 trilayerheterostructures. The evolution of polarization and pyroelectric coefficients in the free-standing NdScO3 trilayer heterostructures is discussed with particular attention to the role that heterostructure design plays in influencing the phase evolution and temperature-dependence with a goal of creating enhanced pyroelectric response and advantages over traditional thin-film heterostructures.

A range of modern applications require large and tunable dielectric, piezoelectric or pyroelectric response of ferroelectrics. Such effects are intimately connected to the nature of polarization and how it responds to externally applied stimuli. Ferroelectric susceptibilities are, in general, strongly temperature dependent, diminishing rapidly as one transitions away from the ferroelectric phase transition (T_C). In turn, researchers seek new routes to manipulate polarization to simultaneously enhance susceptibilities and broaden operational temperature ranges. Here, we demonstrate such a capability by creating composition and strain gradients in Ba_1-xSr_xTiO₃ films which result in spatial polarization gradients as large as 35 μC cm^-2 across a 150 nm thick film. These polarization gradients allow for large dielectric permittivity with low loss (ɛ_r≈775, tan δ<0.05), negligible temperature-dependence (13% deviation over 500 °C) and high-dielectric tunability (greater than 70% across a 300 °C range). The role of space charges in stabilizing polarization gradients is also discussed.

Leveraging competition between energetically degenerate states to achieve large field-driven responses is a hallmark of functional materials, but routes to such competition are limited. Here, a new route to such effects involving domain-structure competition is demonstrated, which arises from strain-induced spontaneous partitioning of PbTiO₃ thin films into nearly energetically degenerate, hierarchical domain architectures of coexisting c/a and a₁ /a₂ domain structures. Using band-excitation piezoresponse force microscopy, this study manipulates and acoustically detects a facile interconversion of different ferroelastic variants via a two-step, three-state ferroelastic switching process (out-of-plane polarized c⁺ → in-plane polarized a → out-of-plane polarized c^- state), which is concomitant with large nonvolatile electromechanical strains (≈1.25%) and tunability of the local piezoresponse and elastic modulus (>23%). It is further demonstrated that deterministic, nonvolatile writing/erasure of large-area patterns of this electromechanical response is possible, thus showing a new pathway to improved function and properties.