Topological defects with dipoles in PTO/STO multilayers
April 2018
by Lu Lu, Yousra Nahas, Ming Liu, Hongchu Du, Zhijun Jiang, Shengping Ren, Dawei Wang, Lei Jin, Sergei Prokhorenko, Chun-Lin Jia, and Laurent Bellaiche
Distinct and novel features of nanometric electric topological defects, including dipolewaves and dipole disclinations, are revealed in the PbTiO3 layers of PbTiO3/SrTiO3 multilayer multilayer films by means of quantitative high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy.
These original dipole configurations are confirmed and explained by atomistic simulations and have the potential to act as functional elements in future electronics. Observations are expected to stimulate further experimental and theoretical investigations on complex configurations of electric dipoles in ferroelectrics and related properties, which have been discussed theoretically for ordered media.
Further reading:
Lu Lu, Yousra Nahas, Ming Liu, Hongchu Du, Zhijun Jiang, Shengping Ren, Dawei Wang, Lei Jin, Sergei Prokhorenko, Chun-Lin Jia, and Laurent Bellaiche: Topological defects with distinct dipole configurations in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 multilayer films, Physical Review Letters 120 (2018) 177601.