Engineering and Understanding the Dynamics of Ferroelectric Domain Walls and Boundaries

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One of the most attractive topics of ferroic materials is the creation and study of topological structures, not only domain walls but also domain boundaries and more complex ones such as flux closure structures or skyrmions. Advanced Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) tools developed at CNMS have emerged as a powerful tool to study and engineer these domain walls, providing unprecedented insights into their nanoscale dynamics, switching behavior, and interaction with external stimuli.
In this talk, we present recent advancements in the application of PFM techniques for the high-resolution exploration of ferroelectric domain walls and its dynamics. We highlight how PFM enables the study of domain wall dynamics under electric fields, mechanical stress, and thermal conditions. We also discuss emerging strategies to control and stabilize topologically complex domain structures, such as vortex -like configurations, through precise engineering of interfaces. Special attention is given to the engineering of domain wall structures and boundary conditions in ferroelectric thin films and heterostructures through customized ferrolithography tools. The interplay between these external factors and the intrinsic material properties leads to novel switching mechanisms, and changes in domain wall/boundary structure. These findings have far-reaching implications for next-generation memory devices, actuators, and energy-efficient electronics.
This work was supported by Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.