Bent ferroelectric domain walls as reconfigurable metallic-like channels

January 2016

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

The use of ferroelectric domain-walls in future electronics requires that they are stable, rewritable conducting channels. Here researchers from the EPFL-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the University of Geneva and the Ernst Ruska-Centre 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”.

Further reading:

Igor Stolichnov, Ludwig Feigl, Leo J McGilly, Tomas Sluka, Xian-Kui Wei, Enrico Colla, Arnaud Crassous, Konstantin Shapovalov, Petr Yudin, Alexander K Tagantsev, and Nava Setter: Bent ferroelectric domain walls as reconfigurable metallic-like channels,