Multilayer ferroelectric and ferromagnetic thin films were fabricated with the following composition and structure: La0.67Sr0.33MnOx /~Pb, La!~Ca, Ti!O3 ~LSMO/PLCT! and ~Pb, La!~Ca, Ti!O3 /La0.67Sr0.33MnOx ~PLCT/LSMO!, with an intention of creating a device of new concept. The films were fabricated using metalorganic deposition. The LSMO/PLCT structured films exhibit the ferroelectric propertie...

Enhancement of polarization and related properties in heteroepitaxially constrained thin films of the ferroelectromagnet, BiFeO3, is reported. Structure analysis indicates that the crystal structure of film is monoclinic in contrast to bulk, which is rhombohedral. The films display a room-temperature spontaneous polarization (50 to 60 microcoulombs per square centimeter) almost an order of magn...

The integration of ferroelectrics in electronic devices requires that they be used in the form of thin films, which implies that for such systems finite-size effects related to the presence of a ferroelectric-electrode interface become important. In this thesis, a number of theoretical studies are presented on the properties of metal-ferroelectric-metal structures, focusing on the impact of the...

The use of Atomic Force Microscopy to evaluate the properties of ferroelectric thin films is often associated with poor contrast images and quantitative analysis is often not possible. In this paper elements of the metrology associated with this technique are explored, and results comparing different materials types and surface cleanliness are described.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an emerging field in which smart materials interrogate structural components to predict failure, expedite needed repairs, and thus increase the useful life of those components. Piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) have been previously adhesively-bonded to structures and demonstrate the ability to detect and locate cracking, corrosion, and disbonding th...

The single phase Pb(0.8)Co(0.2)TiO3 thin films were synthesized on a Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by the sol-gel route. The present films exhibited homogeneous microstructure with low porosity. O 1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to detect the amount of oxygen vacancies. The ferroelectric measurements showed that the ferroelectricity deteriorates with the increase in the number of o...

Ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFETs) have attracted much attention recently because of their ability to combine high speed, low power consumption, and fast nondestructive readout with the potential for high density nonvolatile memory. The polarization of the ferroelectric is used to switch the channel at the silicon surface between states of high and low conductance. Among the ferroe...

Dependence of the dielectric response of ferroelectrics on defect types, particularly those with long range strain fields in confined geometries have been often mentioned, especially in interpreting experimental results in films. However, detailed discussions on the mechanisms with which defects alter properties, particularly in the presence of interfaces imposing certain boundary conditions, a...

Degradation of piezoelectric properties has been studied in ferroelectric PZT films by means of optical interferometry. The degradation under dc bias and aging of poled films have been observed. The decay of piezoelectric coefficient with time is described by a logarithmic law with aging rates comparable to those of switching polarization. The aging rates are shown to be sensitive to poling con...