Crystallographic orientation dependence of ferroelectric domain walls in antiferroelectric lead zirconate thin films

Domains of antiferroelectric PbZrO3 have been studied. The (111) PbZrO3 has lower field transitions due to the reduction of the angle between the ferroelectric polar axis and the applied electric field. The study of the permittivity reveals also that the (111) PbZrO3 has a higher correlation of dipoles (|Shf| = 0.007) due to the energy gain associated with their orientation. Therefore, the (111) crystallographic orientation is a better choice for obtaining easily switching domain. The dielectric response of the domain walls in the (100) and (111) PbZrO3 are identical because they have the same environment (same grain size and similar defects) and interact in the same way. Only the domain wall density is higher in the (111) PbZrO3 due to its lower crystallographic orientation factor. Different crystallographic directions have more obstacles due to the inhomogeneity of the crystallization and consequently has more nucleation site for domain walls.