SIZE EFFECTS IN PEROVSKITE FERROELECTRIC NANOSTRUCTURES: CURRENT PROGRESS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures offer a wide range of functional properties (e.g., dielectric switchability, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, high permittivities and strong electro-optic effects), which have received much attention in the fields of microelectronic devices miniaturization over the last few years. Pronounced size effects of the functional properties have been demonstrated in the perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures. Besides its intrinsic scientific value, fundamental understanding of the size effects in perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures has become critical item for developing a new generation of revolutionary nanodevices. In this article, a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research progress on the size effects in perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures which have been achieved from both experiment and theory is provided. It begins with a historical perspective of the size effects in perovskite ferroelectrics, and then highlight the recent progress on the theoretical studies of the size effects in perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures which have been achieved by using different numerical approaches (e.g., phenomenological approaches, first-principle computations and the Ising model in a transverse field). The current progress of the experimental testing of the size effects in perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures (e.g., nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes and nanofilms) is summarized. Finally, the perspectives toward the future challenges of the size effects in perovskite ferroelectric nanostructures is reviewed.