Control of surface potential at polar domain walls in a nonpolar oxide

G. F. Nataf, M. Guennou, J. Kreisel, P. Hicher, R. Haumont, O. Aktas, E. K. H. Salje, L. Tortech, C. Mathieu, D. Martinotti, and N. Barrett
Phys. Rev. Materials 1, 074410 – Published 26 December 2017
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Abstract

Ferroic domain walls could play an important role in microelectronics, given their nanometric size and often distinct functional properties. Until now, devices and device concepts were mostly based on mobile domain walls in ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials. A less explored path is to make use of polar domain walls in nonpolar ferroelastic materials. Indeed, while the polar character of ferroelastic domain walls has been demonstrated, polarization control has been elusive. Here, we report evidence for the electrostatic signature of the domain-wall polarization in nonpolar calcium titanate (CaTiO3). Macroscopic mechanical resonances excited by an ac electric field are observed as a signature of a piezoelectric response caused by polar walls. On the microscopic scale, the polarization in domain walls modifies the local surface potential of the sample. Through imaging of surface potential variations, we show that the potential at the domain wall can be controlled by electron injection. This could enable devices based on nondestructive information readout of surface potential.

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  • Received 3 August 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.074410

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

G. F. Nataf1,2,3,*, M. Guennou2, J. Kreisel2,4, P. Hicher5, R. Haumont5, O. Aktas6,7, E. K. H. Salje2,6, L. Tortech8, C. Mathieu1, D. Martinotti1, and N. Barrett1

  • 1SPEC, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
  • 2Materials Research and Technology Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, 41 rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg
  • 3Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS, United Kingdom
  • 4Physics and Materials Science Research Unit, University of Luxembourg, 41 Rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg
  • 5Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie de l′Etat Solide, ICMMO, CNRS-UMR 8182, Bâtiment 410-Université Paris-Sud XI, 15 rue Georges Clémenceau, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
  • 6Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, United Kingdom
  • 7State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710049 Xi'an, China
  • 8IPCM, UMR CNRS 7201, UPMC, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, F-75005 Paris, France

  • *Corresponding author: gn283@cam.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 1, Iss. 7 — December 2017

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