Related papers: Atomic-environment-dependent thickness of ferroela…
Domain walls in ferroelectrics exhibit a plethora of phases and functionalities not found in the bulk. The interplay of electrostatic, chemical, topological, and distortive inhomogeneities at the walls can be so complex, however, that this…
Understanding and controlling the motion, stability, and equilibrium configuration of ferroelectric domain walls is key for their integration into potential nanoelectronics applications, such as ferroelectric racetrack memories. Using…
We report first-principle atomistic simulations on the effect of local strain gradients on the nanoscale domain morphology of free-standing PbTiO$_3$ ultrathin films. First, the ferroelectric properties of free films at the atomic level are…
The static configuration of ferroelectric domain walls was investigated using atomic force microscopy on epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 thin films. Measurements of domain wall roughness reveal a power law growth of the correlation function of…
Among the recent discoveries of domain wall functionalities, the observation of electrical conduction at ferroelectric domain walls in the multiferroic insulator BiFeO3 has opened exciting new possibilities. Here, we report evidence of…
The properties of a ferroelectric, (001)-oriented, thin film clamped to a substrate are investigated analytically and numerically. The emphasis is on the tetragonal, polydomain, ferroelectric phase, using a three domain structure, as is…
Domain walls in ferroelectric oxides provide fertile ground for the development of next-generation nanotechnology. Examples include domain-wall-based memory, memristors, and diodes, where the unusual electronic properties and the quasi-2D…
We study the complex ferroelastic/ferroelectric domain structure in the prototypical ferroelectric PbTiO3 epitaxially strained on (110)o-oriented DyScO3 substrates, using a combination of atomic force microscopy, laboratory and synchrotron…
Recent works have shown that the domain walls of room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films can display distinct and promising functionalities. It is thus important to understand the mechanisms underlying domain formation in…
Domain-wall dynamics in ferroelectric materials are strongly position-dependent since each polar interface is locked into a unique local microstructure. This necessitates spatially resolved studies of the wall-pinning using scanning-probe…
Using the model system of ferroelectric domain walls, we explore the effects of long-range dipolar interactions and periodic ordering on the behavior of pinned elastic interfaces. In piezoresponse force microscopy studies of the…
Ferroelectric switching and nanoscale domain dynamics were investigated using atomic force microscopy on monocrystalline Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thin films. Measurements of domain size versus writing time reveal a two-step domain growth mechanism,…
Ferroic materials are well known to exhibit heterogeneity in the form of domain walls. Understanding the properties of these boundaries is crucial for controlling functionality with external stimuli and for realizing their potential for…
Atomic force microscopy was used to investigate ferroelectric switching and nanoscale domain dynamics in epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 thin films. Measurements of the writing time dependence of domain size reveal a two-step process in which…
We report piezo-response force microscopy studies of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls (DWs) in 11 to 36 nm thick films of crystalline ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluorethylene). The DW roughness exponent…
Domain walls are functionally different from the domains they separate, but little is known about their mechanical properties. Using scanning probe microscopy, we have measured the mechanical response of ferroelectric 180o domain walls and…
There is growing evidence that domain walls in ferroics can possess emergent properties that are absent in bulk materials. For example, 180 domain walls in the ferroelectric-antiferromagnetic BiFeO3 are particularly interesting because they…
The physics of ferroelectric domain walls is explored using the Bayesian inference analysis of atomically resolved STEM data. We demonstrate that domain wall profile shapes are ultimately sensitive to the nature of the order parameter in…
Using multiscaling analysis, we compare the characteristic roughening of ferroelectric domain walls in PZT thin films with numerical simulations of weakly pinned one-dimensional interfaces. Although at length scales up to a length scale…
We report electrically switchable polarization and ferroelectric domain scaling over a thickness range of 5-100 nm in BiFeO3 films deposited on [110] vicinal substrates. The BiFeO3 films of variable thickness were deposited with SrRuO3…