Reversible polarization switching in leaky ferroelectrics using an ionic gel induced electrostatic field effect

In this work, a transparent and free-standing ionic gel as the dielectric layer for polarization switching in leaky ferroelectric thin films is reported. By applying an electric field over an ionic liquid dielectric layer used as an electrostatic field gated capacitor, one can avoid electronic conduction. The association of the electrical double layer with depolarization at the solid-liquid interface contributes to the reversible switching in PbZrxTi1-xO3 (x = 0.6) (PZT). Using such ionic gels, the anisotropic ferroelastic switching from mono-c-domain toward a-domain is studied in PZT grown on CaF2 substrates. Our results demonstrate that an electrostatic field, induced by the free-standing ionic gel, is an effective and promising way to investigate leaky ferroelectrics.