Domain Control in Multiferroic BiFeO 3 through Substrate Vicinality

Control over ferroelectric polarization variants in BiFeO3 films through the use of various vicinal SrTiO3 substrates is demonstrated. The revolution of domain formation as a function of vicinality is characterized, and the ferroelectric polarization variants in these films and the corresponding structural variants are carefully analyzed. The piezo/ferroelectric properties of the BiFeO3 films, in turn, can be tailored through this approach.