Misfit strain-temperature phase diagram of multi-domain structures in (111)-oriented ferroelectric PbTiO3 films

High-index-oriented epitaxial ferroelectric films have recently attracted great attention due to their emergent functional properties related to the multi-domain structures. Here, the equilibrium phases and domain structures in (111)-oriented ferroelectric PbTiO3 films were investigated via phase-field simulations and the misfit strain-temperature equilibrium phase diagram was constructed. It was found that the epitaxial strain can effectively control the orientations of polarization vectors, which uniquely determine the domain variant patterns, domain wall orientations and densities. In particular, two types of tetragonal-like domain patterns can form under different strains with their distinct structural characteristics, ferroelectric properties and thermal conductivities. These results provide guidance for interpreting and understanding experimental data as well as designing of (111)-oriented ferroelectric films with specified domain structures and properties.