Injection and controlled motion of conducting domain walls in improper ferroelectric Cu-Cl boracite
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Published version
Author(s)
McQuaid, R
Campbell, M
Whatmore, R
Kumar, A
Gregg, JM
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Ferroelectric domain walls constitute a completely new class of sheet-like functional material. Moreover, since domain walls are generally writable, erasable, and mobile, they could be useful in functionally agile devices: for example, creating and moving conducting walls could make or break electrical connections in new forms of reconfigurable nanocircuitry. However, significant challenges exist: site-specific injection and annihilation of planar walls, which show robust conductivity, has not been easy to achieve. Here, we report the observation, mechanical writing and controlled movement of charged conducting domain walls in the improper ferroelectric Cu3B7O13Cl. Walls are straight, tens of microns long, and exist as a consequence of elastic compatibility conditions between specific domain pairs. We show that site-specific injection of conducting walls of up to hundreds of microns in length can be achieved through locally applied point-stress and, once created, that they can be moved and repositioned using applied electric fields.
Date Issued
2017-05-16
Date Acceptance
2017-02-27
Citation
Nature Communications, 2017, 8 (4)
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
8
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2017. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise
in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
International License. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise
in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
CHLORINE BORACITE
SINGLE-CRYSTALS
THIN-FILMS
FE-I
POLARIZATION
GAS
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 15105