Ultrafast Ferroelectric Domain Switching Induced by Nano-Second Strain-Pulse

Ferroelectric materials subjected to ultrafast external stimuli have been demonstrated to exhibit dynamic phenomena with potential applications in the high-speed operation of ferroelectric data-storage devices. A modified phase-field model is developed to investigate the ferroelectric domain evolution for Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ bulk materials under nano-second strain-pulse stimuli. In contrast to the ultrafast electric field pulses, where the ferroelectric domain is switched through domain-wall motion over the entire duration of the pulses, the nano-second strain-pulse induces ultrafast domain switching at the beginning of the pulse, after which the domain structure of the material remains stable. A tensile strain pulse (10 ns) with a critical magnitude of 4.4% is demonstrated to completely switch c domain to a domain. In addition, c domain can also be fully switched to a domain through multiple-step domain reversals under the periodic small magnitude (2.0%) of strain pulses (5 ns). The theoretical insights obtained in this work are expected to provide useful guidance for exploring and manipulating the ultrafast dynamic functionalities of ferroelectric materials.