How does picosecond structural deformation of (Ba,Sr)TiO$_{3}$ relate to the pyroelectric effect?

Abstract

The pyroelectric effect in ferroelectric thin films is typically composed of different contributions, which are difficult to disentangle. In addition, clamping to the substrate interface plays an important role. We studied epitaxial (Ba,Sr)TiO$_3$ thin films grown on NdScO$_3$ to see if time-resolved measurements can shed more light on the complex interaction. In particular, we compare standard measurements of the pyroelectric coefficient by temperature-dependent hysteresis loops to transient deformation measurements on picosecond timescales in the same material. The advantage of the time-resolved approach lies in its increased sensitivity in thin films compared to that of polarization hysteresis measurements. Whereas a fast thermal expansion of the ferroelectric thin film was observed after femtosecond laser excitation of the intermediate SrRuO$_3$ layer, heat diffusion simulations reveal frustration of the thermal expansion, which might be explained with the charge dynamics at the Schottky barrier formed at the SrRuO$_3$/(Ba,Sr)TiO$_3$. More studies are required to quantitatively assess the individual contributions to the pyroelectric coefficient of the materials used in our layer architecture.