Physics Commons^™

Using Ab Initio Simulations To Examine The Flexoelectric Effect In Perovskites, Austin B. Plymill

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Flexoelectricity is a property that dielectric materials exhibit where they produce polarization when subject to an inhomogeneous deformation. In the past, this effect has been largely ignored, as its effect in bulk materials has been much less significant than the related effect of piezoelectricity, the polarization of material due to uniform deformation. Interest in flexoelectricity has been increasing in recent years due to the development of nanotechnologies. Flexoelectricity is proportional to the strain gradient a material is subjected to making the flexoelectric effect immense on the nanoscale. Additionally, the flexoelectric effect scales with the dielectric constant making it have a …