Divergent electrostriction at ferroelectric phase transitions: example of strain-induced ferroelectiricty in KTaO3

We investigate the electrostrictive response across a ferroelectric phase transition from first-principles calculations and refute the prevailing view of constant electrostriction across the ferroelectric phase boundary. We take as a case study the epitaxial strain-induced transition from para- to feroelectricity of \ce{KTaO3}. We show that the magnitude of the electrostriction... Show more