Fundamentals of flexoelectricity in solids

The flexoelectric effect is the response of electric polarization to a mechanical strain gradient. It can be viewed as a higher-order effect with respect to piezoelectricity, which is the response of polarization to strain itself. However, at the nanoscale, where large strain gradients are expected, the flexoelectric effect becomes appreciable. Besides, in contrast to the piezoelectric effect, flexoelectricity is allowed by symmetry in any material. Due to these qualities flexoelectricity has attracted growing interest during the past decade. Presently, its role in the physics of dielectrics and semiconductors is widely recognized and the effect is viewed as promising for practical applications. On the other…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• SN
  Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung