Elastic Domain Architectures in Constrained Layers

摘要

The formation of elastic domains in transforming constrained films is a mechanism of relaxation of internal stresses caused by the misfit between a film and a substrate. The formation and evolution of polydomain microstructure as a result of the cubic-tetragonal transformation in a constrained layer are investigated by phase-field simulation. It has been shown that the three-domain hierarchical structure can be formed in the epitaxial films. With changing a fraction of out-of-plane domain there are two types of morphological transitions: from the three-domain structure to the two-domain one and from the hierarchical three-domain structure to the cellular three-domain structure. The results of the phase-field simulation are compared with available experimental data on 90° domain structures in epitaxial ferroelectric films.