Injection and controlled motion of conducting domain walls in improper ferroelectric Cu-Cl boracite

Abstract

Ferroelectric domain walls constitute a completely new class of sheet-like functional material. Moreover, since domain walls are generally writable, erasable and mobile, they could be useful in functionally agile devices: for example, creating and moving conducting walls could make or break electrical connections in new forms of reconfigurable nanocircuitry. However, significant challenges exist: site-specific injection and annihilation of planar walls, which show robust conductivity, has not been easy to achieve. Here, we report the observation, mechanical writing and controlled movement of charged conducting domain walls in the improper-ferroelectric Cu3B7O13Cl. Walls are straight, tens of microns long and exist as a consequence of elastic compatibility conditions between specific domain pairs. We show that site-specific injection of conducting walls of up to hundreds of microns in length can be achieved through locally applied point-stress and, once created, that they can be moved and repositioned using applied electric fields.

Mesoscopic origin of ferroelectric-ferroelectric transition in BaTiO3: Orthorhombic-to-tetragonal domain evolution

“…Observing domain dynamics around such a transition allows an excellent opportunity for determining the kinetics of ferroic domains. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Here, we revealed the mesoscale domain dynamics at the orthorhombic-totetragonal transformation in a single crystal BaTiO3 by means of variable-temperature PFM mapping with high temperature stability. Simultaneous topography mapping allowed an important complementary characterization.…”

Physics and applications of charged domain walls

“…Now we address CDW engineering in improper ferroelectrics. The available data suggest that spontaneous CDW formation 53,59,60 occurs quite often. However, CDW engineering was only recently carried out in Cu-Cl boracite ferroelectrics.…”

“…However, CDW engineering was only recently carried out in Cu-Cl boracite ferroelectrics. 59 In this material, the spontaneous polarization and spontaneous strain are linearly coupled. Exploiting this property of the material, quadrant domain structures were created with application of about 1 GPa Fig.…”

Electronic bulk and domain wall properties in B -site doped hexagonal ErMnO3

“…A specific type of oxide interface -that is naturally occurring -are domain walls (DWs) [5]. DWs show diverse confinement enabled functional properties, which are distinct from the bulk matrix: it has already been established that DWs can be magnetic [6], multiferroic [7], (super-) [8] conductive [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], and have local strain gradients (for twin walls) [19]. These functional properties are readily influenced by electrostatics, strain, and chemical doping [20][21][22].…”