Origin of P-E Hysteresis Offsets in Compositionally Graded Ba(1-x)SrxTiO3 Thick Films

Compositionally graded Ba(1-x)SrxTiO3 thick films were fabricated by the airflow deposition technique. Films displayed hysteresis translation along the polarization axis when driven by an alternating electric field. The trend of the hysteresis shift as a function of temperature is similar to the difference of DC currents measured when a positive and negative DC electric field is applied. The study suggests that the origin of this phenomenon lies in an asymmetry of the film conductance due to the presence of asymmetric Schottky contacts at the BaTiO3/Ag and Ag/Ba0.xSr1-0.xTiO3 interfaces.