Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation

Strain engineering is a powerful tool routinely used to control and enhance properties such as ferroelectricity, magnetic ordering, or metal–insulator transitions. Epitaxial strain in thin films allows manipulation of in-plane lattice parameters, achieving strain values generally up to 4%, and even...

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Main Authors: A. Blázquez Martínez, S. Glinšek, T. Granzow, J.-N. Audinot, P. Fertey, J. Kreisel, M. Guennou, C. Toulouse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2025-02-01
Series:APL Materials
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0240491
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author A. Blázquez Martínez
S. Glinšek
T. Granzow
J.-N. Audinot
P. Fertey
J. Kreisel
M. Guennou
C. Toulouse
author_facet A. Blázquez Martínez
S. Glinšek
T. Granzow
J.-N. Audinot
P. Fertey
J. Kreisel
M. Guennou
C. Toulouse
author_sort A. Blázquez Martínez
collection DOAJ
description Strain engineering is a powerful tool routinely used to control and enhance properties such as ferroelectricity, magnetic ordering, or metal–insulator transitions. Epitaxial strain in thin films allows manipulation of in-plane lattice parameters, achieving strain values generally up to 4%, and even above in some specific cases. In polycrystalline films, which are more suitable for functional applications due to their lower fabrication costs, strains above 1% often cause cracking. This poses challenges for functional property tuning by strain engineering. Helium implantation has been shown to induce negative pressure through interstitial implantation, which increases the unit cell volume and allows for continuous strain tuning with the implanted dose in epitaxial monocrystalline films. However, there has been no study on the transferability of helium implantation as a strain-engineering technique to polycrystalline films. Here, we demonstrate the technique’s applicability for strain engineering beyond epitaxial monocrystalline samples. Helium implantation can trigger an unprecedented lattice parameter expansion up to 3.2% in polycrystalline BiFeO3 films without causing structural cracks. The film maintains stable ferroelectric properties with doses up to 1015 He cm−2. This finding underscores the potential of helium implantation in strain engineering polycrystalline materials, enabling cost-effective and versatile applications.
format Article
id doaj-art-4501af3b44554cc6b71c5ef968169429
institution DOAJ
issn 2166-532X
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publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher AIP Publishing LLC
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series APL Materials
spelling doaj-art-4501af3b44554cc6b71c5ef9681694292025-08-20T03:00:04ZengAIP Publishing LLCAPL Materials2166-532X2025-02-01132021111021111-910.1063/5.0240491Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantationA. Blázquez Martínez0S. Glinšek1T. Granzow2J.-N. Audinot3P. Fertey4J. Kreisel5M. Guennou6C. Toulouse7Smart Materials Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgSmart Materials Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgSmart Materials Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgSmart Materials Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgSynchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceDepartment of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgDepartment of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgDepartment of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, 41 rue du Brill, 4422 Belvaux, LuxembourgStrain engineering is a powerful tool routinely used to control and enhance properties such as ferroelectricity, magnetic ordering, or metal–insulator transitions. Epitaxial strain in thin films allows manipulation of in-plane lattice parameters, achieving strain values generally up to 4%, and even above in some specific cases. In polycrystalline films, which are more suitable for functional applications due to their lower fabrication costs, strains above 1% often cause cracking. This poses challenges for functional property tuning by strain engineering. Helium implantation has been shown to induce negative pressure through interstitial implantation, which increases the unit cell volume and allows for continuous strain tuning with the implanted dose in epitaxial monocrystalline films. However, there has been no study on the transferability of helium implantation as a strain-engineering technique to polycrystalline films. Here, we demonstrate the technique’s applicability for strain engineering beyond epitaxial monocrystalline samples. Helium implantation can trigger an unprecedented lattice parameter expansion up to 3.2% in polycrystalline BiFeO3 films without causing structural cracks. The film maintains stable ferroelectric properties with doses up to 1015 He cm−2. This finding underscores the potential of helium implantation in strain engineering polycrystalline materials, enabling cost-effective and versatile applications.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0240491
spellingShingle A. Blázquez Martínez
S. Glinšek
T. Granzow
J.-N. Audinot
P. Fertey
J. Kreisel
M. Guennou
C. Toulouse
Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
APL Materials
title Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
title_full Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
title_fullStr Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
title_full_unstemmed Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
title_short Giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
title_sort giant strain tunability in polycrystalline ceramic films via helium implantation
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0240491
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