X-ray nanodiffraction of tilted domains in a poled epitaxial BiFeO3 thin film

We present measurements of crystallographic domain tilts in a (001) BiFeO3 thin film using focused beam x-ray nanodiffraction. Films were ferroelectrically pre-poled with an electric field orthogonal and parallel to as-grown tilt domain stripes. The tilt domains, associated with higher energy (010) vertical twin walls, displayed different nanostructural responses based on the poling orientation. Specifically, an electric field applied perpendicular to the as-grown domain stripe allowed the domain tilts and associated vertical twin walls to persist. The result demonstrates that thin film ferroelectric devices can be designed to maintain unexpected domain morphologies in working poled environments. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3665627]