Piezoelectrics by design: a route through short-period Perovskite superlattices

Abstract

Using first-principles density functional theory, we study piezoelectricity in short-period superlattices made with combinations of ferroelectric and paraelectric components that exhibit polar discontinuities. We show that the piezoelectric response of such a superlattice can be tuned in terms of sign and magnitude by the choice of components. As these superlattices with nonswitchable polarization do not undergo ferroelectric transitions, we predict them to exhibit a robust piezoelectric response with weaker temperature dependence compared to their bulk counterparts.