An attempt towards understanding of the blocking behavior of a nanocrystalline thin film: A Quantum Monte Carlo study

Abstract

In this work, we provide a thorough analysis of ferroelectric properties and blocking behavior of a nanocrystalline thin film within the Quantum Monte Carlo method. For this purpose, several physical quantities were elucidated including, the field-cooled (FC) and zero field-cooled (ZFC) longitudinal polarizations pTz, and internal energy UT. Interestingly, one could expect the appearance of the blocking behavior in thin films by analogy to magnetic thin films. In this regard, a complete pattern of pTz is constructed. Moreover, the increase in the electric field affects noticeably the polarization profile and internal energy. Investigation in a wide range of temperature reveals substantial contribution of the interfacial coupling Jint on the FC–ZFC polarization curves, which has a significant implications regarding the blocking temperature TB, and represents an important step towards better understanding of this aspect. Furthermore, the ZFC polarization results an enlargement of its area upon increasing Jint. This work reveals also remarkable influence of Ω, and Jint on TB especially for larger interfacial couplings (Jint=4.5), which implies the crucial role played by Jint to appropriately enhancing TB. Our finding provides a theoretical insight into the blocking behavior in nanocrystalline thin films, which will be a step to understanding the usefulness of this nanomaterial.