Enhanced photostrictive actuation in freestanding ferroelectric membranes

Complex oxides offer a range of functional properties and recent advances in fabrication of freestanding membranes of these oxides have enabled enhanced functionality and novel manipulation strategies. Here, we demonstrate photoactuation on freestanding thin film resonators of ferroelectric Barium Titanate (BaTiO 3 ) and paraelectric Strontium Titanate (SrTiO 3 ). The membranes act as nano-drums, oscillating at their natural resonance frequency when illuminated by a frequency-modulated laser. Upon illumination, large out-of-plane deflections develop in BaTiO 3 membranes, two orders of magnitude larger than in SrTiO 3 ones, providing evidence for a ferroelectric origin of their large photoresponse. Time-resolved X-ray micro-diffraction under illumination and temperature-dependent vibrometry provide combined evidence for a photostrictive strain in BaTiO 3 originated from partial screening of polarization by photo-excited carriers. These findings emphasise the pivotal role of light-matter interaction and its manifestation in ferroelectrics such as photostriction, and demonstrate the potential of freestanding ferroelectric membranes as wireless remote optomechanical devices for applications such as photo-actuators and sensors.