2009/06/23 by Éric Bousquet, Eric Bousquet, Nicola A. Spaldin +1 · 147 citations
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Alkaline earth metal #Binary number #Chemistry #Condensed matter physics #Crystallography #Dielectric #Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials #Ferroelectricity #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic moment #Materials science #Metal #Microelectronics #Multiferroics #Multiferroics and related materials #Nanotechnology #Optoelectronics #Perovskite (structure) #Physics #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.104.037601
published in Physical Review Letters 104(3), 037601 (American Physical Society)
arxiv created 2009/06/23 · openalex publication_date 2010/01/20 · arxiv updated 2021/04/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Using first-principles density functional calculations, we show that ferroelectricity can be induced in simple alkaline-earth-metal binary oxides such as barium oxide (BaO) using appropriate epitaxial strains. Going beyond the fundamental discovery, we highlight that the functional properties (polarization, dielectric constant, and piezoelectric response) of such strained binary oxides are comparable in magnitude to those of typical ferroelectric perovskite oxides, making them of direct interest for applications. Finally, we show that magnetic binary oxides such as EuO, with the same rocksalt structure, behave similarly to the alkaline-earth-metal oxides, suggesting a route to new multiferroics combining ferroelectric and magnetic properties.