Design of super-elastic freestanding ferroelectric thin films guided by phase-field simulations

Understanding the dynamic behavior of domain structures is critical to the design and application of super-elastic freestanding ferroelectric thin films. Phase-field simulations represent a powerful tool for observing, exploring and revealing the domain-switching behavior and phase transitions in ferroelectric materials at the mesoscopic scale. This review summarizes the recent theoretical progress regarding phase-field methods in freestanding ferroelectric thin films and novel buckling-induced wrinkled and helical structures. Furthermore, the strong coupling relationship between strain and ferroelectric polarization in super-elastic ferroelectric nanostructures is confirmed and discussed, resulting in new design strategies for the strain engineering of freestanding ferroelectric thin film systems. Finally, to further promote the innovative development and application of freestanding ferroelectric thin film systems, this review provides a summary and outlook on the theoretical modeling of freestanding ferroelectric thin films.