Combined Effect of the Electrode and Surface Transition Layer on the Properties of a Ferroelectric Thin Film

Within the framework of the modified Ginzburg–Landau–Devonshire phenomenological theory, we study the properties of a ferroelectric thin film with surface transition layer, considering the effect of electrodes. The combined effect of the electrode and surface transition layer on the properties (including the polarization, transition temperature and coercive filed) of a ferroelectric thin film is discussed in detail. The results show that the surface transition layer and the electrode can induce the phase transition from ferroelectric to paraelectric phase.