Nanoscale Control of Domain Architectures in BiFeO₃ Thin Films

Abstract

We demonstrate an approach to create a one-dimensional nanoscale array of domain walls in epitaxial La-substituted BiFeO(3) films. We have used a DyScO(3) (110)(O) single-crystal substrate to provide an anisotropic strain to exclude two of the possible structural variants. Furthermore, through careful control of electrostatic boundary conditions, such as the thickness of the SrRuO(3) bottom electrode to induce the self-poling effects, we can choose to obtain either 109 degrees or 71 degrees one-dimensional periodic domain walls. Detailed measurements of the domain structures is shown using piezoresponse force microscopy and X-ray diffraction, which confirms that these periodic structures are the same as those suggested in previous literature.

Ferroelectrically driven spatial carrier density modulation in graphene

“…1b) corresponds to a graphene sheet with multiple, parallel p-i junctions. This proof of concept could potentially be combined with advances in nanoscale domain engineering in ferroelectrics 32,33 or deterministic patterning 34 to create such periodic arrays with periodicities many orders of magnitude smaller than those demonstrated here, which could be particularly impactful for inducing and studying exotic phenomena in graphene.…”

Probing electric field control of magnetism using ferromagnetic resonance

“…Thus, on this (001) surface of the BFO film, the total net IP polarization and the total net IP canted moment in BFO project parallel to each other along the (1-10) DSO direction, which is perpendicular to the stripes as shown in Figs 1c and 3a and Supplementary Fig. 3 33 .…”

“…Ferromagnetic-multiferroic thin-film heterostructures of Pt (2.5 nm)/Co 0.9 Fe 0.1 (2.5 nm)/BiFeO 3 (200 nm)/SrRuO 3 (SRO; 10 nm) were grown onto (110)-oriented DyScO 3 (DSO) substrates with a SRO layer as the bottom electrode using pulsed laser deposition 33 . The resulting epitaxial BFO layer exhibits a characteristic, two-domain structure consisting of a one-dimensional, quasi-periodic array of 71°domains 31 ; we use this as a model system to probe the coupling to the ferromagnetic CoFe.…”

“…The room temperature single-phase multiferroic, BiFeO 3 (BFO), has attracted a lot of recent research interest due to the coexistence of robust ferroelectricity (P) and antiferromagnetism (L) [13][14][15][16][17][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] and a weak canted magnetic moment (M C ). In bulk BFO, the weak moment results from the canting of the magnetic sublattices due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction 14 as predicted by the density functional theory 14 and confirmed experimentally 30,36 .…”

Magnetotransport at Domain Walls inBiFeO3

“…• domain wall structures [16]. For this study, epitaxial 100 nm BFO/DyScO 3 (110) O heterostructures were grown using pulsed laser deposition.…”