Measuring direct flexoelectricity at the nanoscale

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Moreno-Garcia, Daniel, Villanueva, Luis Guillermo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917851086979072
author Moreno-Garcia, Daniel
Villanueva, Luis Guillermo
author_facet Moreno-Garcia, Daniel
Villanueva, Luis Guillermo
contents Flexoelectricity is a property of all dielectric materials, where inhomogeneous strain induces electrical polarization. This effect becomes particularly prominent at the nanoscale where larger strain gradients can be obtained. While flexoelectric charges have been measured in mm-scale systems, direct measurements in nanoscale-thickness materials have not yet been achieved. Given that one of the most prominent applications of flexoelectricity is in nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS), confirming the presence and magnitude of the effect at these scales is essential. This study presents the first-ever measurements of flexoelectric-generated charges (direct effect) in nanoscale-thickness materials, using cantilevers with a 50 nm hafnium oxide layer. We confirm that the estimated flexoelectric coefficient from said measurements aligns with the values obtained from complementary experiments using the flexoelectric inverse effect. Additionally, by changing the cantilever geometry (modifying the width of the cantilevers), we demonstrate a 40% increase in the effective flexoelectric coefficient, explained by the interplay of different flexoelectric tensor components. These findings not only validate the presence of flexoelectric effects at the nanoscale but also open the possibility for full flexoelectric transduction of the motion in NEMS/MEMS devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_19118
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Measuring direct flexoelectricity at the nanoscale
Moreno-Garcia, Daniel
Villanueva, Luis Guillermo
Applied Physics
Materials Science
Flexoelectricity is a property of all dielectric materials, where inhomogeneous strain induces electrical polarization. This effect becomes particularly prominent at the nanoscale where larger strain gradients can be obtained. While flexoelectric charges have been measured in mm-scale systems, direct measurements in nanoscale-thickness materials have not yet been achieved. Given that one of the most prominent applications of flexoelectricity is in nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS), confirming the presence and magnitude of the effect at these scales is essential. This study presents the first-ever measurements of flexoelectric-generated charges (direct effect) in nanoscale-thickness materials, using cantilevers with a 50 nm hafnium oxide layer. We confirm that the estimated flexoelectric coefficient from said measurements aligns with the values obtained from complementary experiments using the flexoelectric inverse effect. Additionally, by changing the cantilever geometry (modifying the width of the cantilevers), we demonstrate a 40% increase in the effective flexoelectric coefficient, explained by the interplay of different flexoelectric tensor components. These findings not only validate the presence of flexoelectric effects at the nanoscale but also open the possibility for full flexoelectric transduction of the motion in NEMS/MEMS devices.
title Measuring direct flexoelectricity at the nanoscale
topic Applied Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.19118