Motion and Teleportation of Polar Bubbles in Low-dimensional Ferroelectrics

Authors

S. Prohorenko, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow
Y. Nahas, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
V. Govinden, University of New South Wales
Q. Zhang, University of New South WalesFollow
N. Valanoor, University of New South Wales
L. Bellaiche, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2024

Keywords

TEMPERATURE PROPERTIES; TRANSITIONS

Abstract

Electric bubbles are sub-10nm spherical vortices of electric dipoles that can spontaneously form in ultra-thin ferroelectrics. While the static properties of electric bubbles are well established, little to nothing is known about the dynamics of these particle-like structures. Here, we reveal pathways to realizing both the spontaneous and controlled dynamics of electric bubbles in ultra-thin Pb(Zr_0.4Ti_0.6)O₃ films. In low screening conditions, we find that electric bubbles exhibit thermally-driven chaotic motion giving rise to a liquid-like state. In the high screening regime, we show that bubbles remain static but can be continuously displaced by a local electric field. Additionally, we predict and experimentally demonstrate the possibility of bubble teleportation - a process wherein a bubble is transferred to a new location via a single electric field pulse of a PFM tip. Finally, we attribute the discovered phenomena to the hierarchical structure of the energy landscape.

Citation

Prohorenko, S., Nahas, Y., Govinden, V., Zhang, Q., Valanoor, N., & Bellaiche, L. (2024). Motion and Teleportation of Polar Bubbles in Low-dimensional Ferroelectrics. Nature Communications, 15 (1), 412. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44639-4

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.