Related papers: Confinement-driven inverse domain scaling in polyc…
In epitaxially strained ferroelectric thin films and superlattices, the ferroelectric transition temperature can lie above the growth temperature. Ferroelectric polarization and domains should then evolve during the growth of a sample, and…
Domain structure of a fluid ferroelectric nematic is dramatically different from the domain structure of solid ferroelectrics since it is not restricted by rectilinear crystallographic axes and planar surface facets. We demonstrate that…
A thermodynamic theory is developed for dense laminar domain structures in epitaxial ferrolectric films. It is found that, at some critical misfit strain between the film and substrate, the 90 degrees c/a/c/a domain structure becomes…
We investigate vortex configuration in antiferromagnetic thin discs. It is shown that the vortex acquires oscillatory dynamics with well-defined amplitude and frequency which may be controlled on demand by an alternating spin polarized…
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,…
The presence of domains in ferroic materials can negatively affect their macroscopic properties and hence their usefulness in device applications. From an experimental perspective, measuring materials comprising multiple domains can…
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…
Semiconducting ferroelectric materials with low energy polarisation switching offer a platform for next-generation electronics such as ferroelectric field-effect transistors. Ferroelectric domains at symmetry-broken interfaces of transition…
The manipulation of mesoscale domain wall phenomena has emerged as a powerful strategy for designing ferroelectric responses in functional devices, but its full potential has not yet been realized in the field of magnetism. We show that…
A promising mechanism for achieving colossal dielectric constants is to use insulating internal barrier layers, which typically form during synthesis and then remain in the material. It has recently been shown that insulating domain walls…
Micrometric domains of precise ferroelectric polarization have been written into a 20 nm thick epitaxial thin film of BaTiO3(001) (BTO) on a Nb doped SrTiO3 (STO) substrate using PiezoForce Microscopy (PFM). The domain dependent electronic…
Materials with ferroelectrically switchable topological properties are of interest for both fundamental physics and practical applications. Using first-principles calculations, we find that stacking ferroelectric $\alpha$-In$_2$Se$_3$…
Ferroelectricity in perovskites is known to be suppressed by a moderate hydrostatic pressure. The notion that a polar instability should reappear in a higher pressure regime is well accepted theoretically but experiments have failed so far…
We present a first-principles study of model domain walls (DWs) in prototypic ferroelectric PbTiO3. At high temperature the DW structure is somewhat trivial, with atoms occupying high- symmetry positions. However, upon cooling the DW…
Combining our comprehensive investigations of polarization evolution, soft-mode by Raman scattering and microstructure by TEM, and the results reported in the literatures, we show that prototypical relaxor Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) is…
Ferroelectric switching in BiFeO$_3$ multiferroic thin films with intrinsic ``stripe-like'' and ``bubble-like'' polydomain configurations was studied by piezoresponse force microscopy. Using the local electric field applied by a scanning…
In the archetypal antiferroelectric PbZrO3, antiparallel electric dipoles cancel each other, resulting in zero spontaneous polarisation at the macroscopic level. Yet in actual hysteresis loops, the cancellation is rarely perfect and some…
Electric-field control of spin-dependent properties has become one of the most attractive phenomena in modern materials research due the promise of new device functionalities. One of the paradigms in this approach is to electrically toggle…
Perovskites with tunable and switchable polarization hold immense promise for unlocking novel functionalities. Using density-functional theory, we reveal that intrinsic defects can induce, enhance, and control polarization in…
Topological polar vortices that are the electric analogues of magnetic objects, present great potential in applications of future nanoelectronics due to their nanometer size, anomalous dielectric response, and chirality. To enable the…