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arXiv · 2511.19029

Light-induced photomechanical patterning of ferroelectric polarization

Alban Degezelle·Jonas Strobelt·Sarah Loebner·Moussa Mebarki·Stephane Fusil·Vincent Garcia·Bruno Berini·Vincent Polewczyk·Yves Dumont·Sylvia Matzen·Philippe Lecoeur·Svetlana Santer·Thomas Maroutian
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Abstract

Tailoring at will polar textures in ferroelectrics is critical for the development of nanoscale electronics and functional oxide technologies. Freestanding ferroelectric membranes have enabled studies of strain-induced polarization responses, but the control over membrane shape and local polarization typically remains limited to spontaneous buckling or uniaxial mechanical deformations. In this work, we employ a versatile photosensitive-polymer patterning approach to impose programmable bending strain profiles in ferroelectric membranes. Using BaTiO3 as a model system, we demonstrate deterministic 90° polarization rotation driven by engineered in-plane strain, and 180° polarization reversal arising from flexoelectric coupling through a controlled strain gradient. These results establish this programmable bending as a powerful approach to investigate strain-dependent domain structures, leverage flexoelectric effects, and engineer custom ferroelectric landscapes across a wide range of oxide membranes.

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Alban Degezelle, Jonas Strobelt, Sarah Loebner, Moussa Mebarki, Stephane Fusil, Vincent Garcia, Bruno Berini, Vincent Polewczyk, Yves Dumont, Sylvia Matzen, Philippe Lecoeur, Svetlana Santer, Thomas Maroutian. 2025-12-08. Light-induced photomechanical patterning of ferroelectric polarization. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19029

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