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In situ straining of epitaxial freestanding ferroic films by a microelectromechanical device

Simone Finizio1,*, Tim A. Butcher1,2,†, Maria Cocconcelli3, Elisabeth Müller1, Lauren J. Riddiford1,4, Jeffrey A. Brock1,4, Chia-Chun Wei5, Li-Shu Wang5, Jan-Chi Yang5,6 et al.

Shih-Wen Huang1, Federico Maspero3, Riccardo Bertacco3, and Jörg Raabe1

  • *Contact author: simone.finizio@psi.ch
  • †Contact author: tim.butcher@mbi-berlin.de
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Phys. Rev. B 113, 134408 – Published 3 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pj3y-qfvb

Abstract

Mechanical strain can be used to control physical properties in materials. The experimental investigation of strain-induced effects at the nanoscale is of importance not only for its fundamental aspects but also for the development of device applications. Transmission x-ray microscopy is a particularly well-suited technique for nanoscale imaging of magnetic materials, but its compatibility with in situ mechanical straining of samples is limited. In this work, we present a setup for applying tailored in situ mechanical strains to freestanding thin films by means of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuator. We then present a proof-of-concept experiment in which a freestanding 80-nm-thick (001) BiFeO3 multiferroic thin film is strained with the MEMS device, allowing us to control the coupled ferroelectric/spin cycloidal configuration.

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 134408– Published 3 April, 2026
  • Received 2 February 2026
  • Accepted 16 March 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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