Application of scanning probe microscopy techniques such as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) opens the possibility to re‐visit the ferroelectrics previously studied by the macroscopic electrical testing methods and establish a link between their local nanoscale characteristics and integral response. The nanoscale PFM studies and phase field modeling of the static and dynamic behavior of the domain structure in the well‐known ferroelectric material lead germanate, Pb5Ge3O11, are reported. Several unusual phenomena are revealed: 1) domain formation during the paraelectric‐to‐ferroelectric phase transition, which exhibits an atypical cooling rate dependence; 2) unexpected electrically induced formation of the oblate domains due to the preferential domain walls motion in the directions perpendicular to the polar axis, contrary to the typical domain growth behavior observed so far; 3) absence of the bound charges at the 180° head‐to‐head (H–H) and tail‐totail (T–T) domain walls, which typically exhibit a significant charge density in other ferroelectrics due to the polarization discontinuity. This strikingly different behavior is rationalized by the phase field modeling of the dynamics of uncharged H–H and T–T domain walls. The results provide a new insight into the emergent physics of the ferroelectric domain boundaries, revealing unusual properties not exhibited by conventional Ising‐type walls.
Domain wall nanoelectronics is a rapidly evolving field, which explores the diverse electronic properties of the ferroelectric domain walls for application in low‐dimensional electronic systems. One of the most prominent features of the ferroelectric domain walls is their electrical conductivity. Here, using a combination of scanning probe and scanning transmission electron microscopy, the mechanism of the tunable conducting behavior of the domain walls in the sub‐micrometer thick films of the technologically important ferroelectric LiNbO3is explored. It is found that the electric bias generates stable domains with strongly inclined domain boundaries with the inclination angle reaching 20° with respect to the polar axis. The head‐to‐head domain boundaries exhibit high conductance, which can be modulated by application of the sub‐coercive voltage. Electron microscopy visualization of the electrically written domains and piezoresponse force microscopy imaging of the very same domains reveals that the gradual and reversible transition between the conducting and insulating states of the domain walls results from the electrically induced wall bending near the sample surface. The observed modulation of the wall conductance is corroborated by the phase‐field modeling. The results open a possibility for exploiting the conducting domain walls as the electrically controllable functional elements in the multilevel logic nanoelectronics devices.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10460087
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials
- Volume:
- 31
- Issue:
- 48
- ISSN:
- 0935-9648
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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