Domain stability of PbTiO3 thin films under anisotropic misfit strains: Phase-field simulations

The domain stability and domain structures of (001)-oriented PbTiO ₃ ferroelectric thin films subject to anisotropic in-plane strains were studied using phase-field method. Based on the simulation results, a room temperature domain/phase stability diagram was constructed for PbTiO₃ thin films with the in-plane strains ranging from -5% to 5%. The predicted diagram is both quantitatively and qualitatively different from those obtained using thermodynamic calculations based on a single-domain assumption.