Related papers: Liquid-crystal-like dynamic transition in ferroele…
Ferroelectrics are characterized by domain structures as are other ferroics. At the nanoscale though, ferroelectrics may exhibit non-trivial or exotic polarization configurations under proper electrostatic and elastic conditions. These…
Ferroelectric vortices formed through complex lattice-charge interactions have great potential in applications for future nanoelectronics such as memories. For practical applications, it is crucial to manipulate these topological states…
Many dipolar topological structures have been experimentally demonstrated in (PbTiO$_3$)$_n$/(SrTiO$_3$)$_n$ superlattices, such as flux-closure, vortice, and skyrmion. In this work, we employ deep potential molecular dynamics (MD) to…
The distinctive characteristics of water, evident in its thermodynamic anomalies, have implications across disciplines from biology to geophysics. Considered a valid hypothesis to rationalize its unique properties, a liquid-liquid phase…
Weakly coupled ferroelectric/dielectric superlattice thin film heterostructures exhibit complex nanoscale polarization configurations that arise from a balance of competing electrostatic, elastic, and domain-wall contributions to the free…
The ability to controllably manipulate the complex topological polar configurations, such as polar flux-closure via external stimuli, enables many applications in electromechanical devices and nanoelectronics including high-density…
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…
The recent discovery of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking has demonstrated the possibility of discovering the exotic textures of ferromagnetic systems in liquid crystalline fluid ferro-electrics. We show that the polar smectic mesophase…
Ferroelectric ordering in liquids is a fundamental question of physics. Here, we show that ferroelectric ordering of the molecules causes formation of recently reported splay nematic liquid-crystalline phase. As shown by dielectric…
Controlling the polarization switching in the ferroelectric nanocrystals, nanowires and nanodots has an inherent specificity related to the emergence of depolarization field that is associated with the spontaneous polarization. This field…
Perovskite ferroelectric oxides are usually considered to be brittle materials, however, recent work [Dong et al., Science 366, 475 (2019)] demonstrated the super-elasticity in the freestanding BaTiO3 thin films. This property may originate…
We perform real-time stereoscopic wide-area imaging of a ferroelectric phase-transition in KTN:Li. Spontaneous polarization is observed to form a thermally hysteretic 3D lattice of mutually interlinked closed-flux patterns that spans the…
We develop a lattice model for the splay flexoelectric effect in nematic liquid crystals. In this model, each lattice site has a spin representing the local molecular orientation, and the interaction between neighboring spins represents…
We report the observation of the transition from an ordered solid-like phase to a disordered liquid-like phase of a lattice of spikes on a ferrofluid surface submitted to horizontal sinusoidal vibrations. The melting transition occurs for a…
Over the last decade, an increasing body of evidence has emerged, supporting the existence of a metastable liquid-liquid critical point in supercooled water, whereby two distinct liquid phases of different densities coexist. Analysing long…
A single crystal of lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), composition Pb(Zr0.80Ti0.20)O3, was studied by polarized-Raman scattering as a function of temperature. Raman spectra reveal that the local structure deviates from the average structure in…
There are increasing evidences that ferroelectric states at the nanoscale can exhibit fascinating topological structures including polar vortices and skyrmions,akin to those observed in the ferromagnetic systems. Here we report the…
The wealth of complex polar topologies recently found in nanoscale ferroelectrics result from a delicate balance between the materials intrinsic tendency to develop a homogeneous polarization and the electric and mechanic boundary…
Hysteretic switching of domain states is a salient character of all ferroic materials and the foundation for their multifunctional applications. Ferro-rotational order is emerging as a new type of ferroic order featuring structural…
Polar skyrmions are topologically stable, swirling polarization textures with particle-like characteristics, which hold promise for next-generation, nanoscale logic and memory. While understanding of how to create ordered polar skyrmion…