PbTiO3-based perovskite ferroelectric and multiferroic thin films.

Ferroelectric thin films, especially PbTiO3-based perovskite thin films which possess robust spontaneous electrical polarization, are widely investigated and applied in various devices. With the advances in synthesis, characterization and calculation techniques, diverse phenomena and properties are uncovered in ferroelectric thin films. Herein some typical PbTiO3-based perovskite thin films through composition control are introduced, which gives more choices with various ferroelectric or other properties. Strain engineering, as well as some other interfacial effects, is also included to show the possibilities of controlling the lattice structure, the electronic structure as well as the domain structure which are closely connected to ferroelectricity. Multiferroic thin films, which could achieve magnetic-field-controlled polarization reversal, expand the novel applications of ferroelectric thin films. Typical and remarkable progress made in the case of multiferroic PbTiO3-based perovskite thin films is discussed here. Critical problems such as leakage current and fatigue hinder the practical use of ferroelectric and multiferroic thin films, and are also included in this article.