The ferroelectric properties of the surface of SrTiO3 strontium titanate ceramics are studied by the method of piezoresponse force microscopy. It is shown that polar nanoareas exist in the surface layer of the SrTiO3 ceramics in the temperature range of 8 – 295 K. The results of thermodynamic computations are presented, which reflect the important role of crystal lattice deformations and oxygen vacancies in the low-temperature evolution of the piezoelectric response of the near-surface layers of the SrTiO3 ceramics.
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The authors are grateful to Professor N. A. Pertsev for the discussion and consultations.
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The work has been performed with support of the Program for Raising International Competitiveness of the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University.
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Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 10, pp. 48 – 53, October, 2014.
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Andreeva, V.N., Filimonov, A.V., Rudskoy, A.I. et al. A Study of the Physical Properties of Strontium Titanate Ceramics in the Temperature Range of 8 – 295 K by the Method of Piezoresponse Force Microscopy. Met Sci Heat Treat 56, 564–569 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11041-015-9800-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11041-015-9800-y