Phase transitions and antiferroelectricity in BiFeO3 from atomic-level simulations

Abstract

The structural and polar properties of BiFeO3 at finite temperature are investigated using an atomistic shell model fitted to first-principles calculations. Molecular dynamics simulations show a direct transition from the lowerature R3c ferroelectric phase to the Pbnm orthorhombic phase without evidence of any intermediate bridging phase between them. The higherature phase is characterized by the presence of two sublattices with opposite polarizations, and it displays the characteristic double-hysteresis loop under the action of an external electric field. The microscopic analysis reveals that the change in the polar direction and the large lattice strains observed during the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition originate from the interplay between polarization, oxygen octahedron rotations, and strain. As a result, the induced ferroelectric phase recovers the symmetry of the lowerature R3c phase.