Bent Ferroelectric Domain Walls as Reconfigurable Metallic-Like Channels

Igor Stolichnov; Ludwig Feigl; Leo J McGilly; Tomas Sluka; Xian-Kui Wei; Enrico Colla; Arnaud Crassous; Konstantin Shapovalov; Petr Yudin; Alexander K Tagantsev; Nava Setter

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03450

Bent Ferroelectric Domain Walls as Reconfigurable Metallic-Like Channels

Nano Lett. 2015 Dec 9;15(12):8049-55. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03450. Epub 2015 Nov 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Ceramics Laboratory, EPFL-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology , Lausanne 1015, Switzerland.
² DPMC-MaNEP, University of Geneva , 24 Quai Ernest Ansermet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
³ Peter Grunberg Institute and Ernst Ruska Center for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Research Center Jülich , Jülich 52425, Germany.

PMID: 26555142
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03450

Abstract

Use of ferroelectric domain-walls in future electronics requires that they are stable, rewritable conducting channels. Here we demonstrate nonthermally activated metallic-like conduction in nominally uncharged, bent, rewritable ferroelectric-ferroelastic domain-walls of the ubiquitous ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 using scanning force microscopy down to a temperature of 4 K. New walls created at 4 K by pressure exhibit similar robust and intrinsic conductivity. Atomic resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy confirms the conductivity confinement at the wall. This work provides a new concept in "domain-wall nanoelectronics".

Keywords: Ferroelectric; domain wall; metallic; scanning probe microscopy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't