Ferroelastic Domain Walls in BiFeO₃ as Memristive Networks

Domain walls of ferroic oxides have been extensively investigated as functional defects. In particular, ferroelastic domain walls of ferroelectric oxide perovskites have shown enhanced conductivity with respect to the insulating domains. Memristive behaviour has also been demonstrated in these nanoscale objects. However, until now, these properties have been measured on individual domain walls with current flowing between electrodes located at the bottom and top of the thin film samples. Here we show that lateral current flow from wall to wall is also possible in these materials, therefore allowing information transfer through the domain wall network and making these systems promising for brain-inspired applications.