Electric-field control of the nucleation and motion of isolated three-fold polar vertices

• Published in: Nature communications 2022-10, Vol.13 (1), p.6340-8, Article 6340
• Main Authors: Li, Mingqiang, Yang, Tiannan, Chen, Pan, Wang, Yongjun, Zhu, Ruixue, Li, Xiaomei, Shi, Ruochen, Liu, Heng-Jui, Huang, Yen-Lin, Ma, Xiumei, Zhang, Jingmin, Bai, Xuedong, Chen, Long-Qing, Chu, Ying-Hao, Gao, Peng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 147/137; 147/143; 639/301/119/544; 639/766/119/996; Apexes; Boundary conditions; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Controllability; Data storage; Electric fields; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Nucleation; Science; Science & Technology - Other Topics; Science (multidisciplinary); Strontium titanates; Thin films; Topology; Unit cell
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33973-8

Recently various topological polar structures have been discovered in oxide thin films. Despite the increasing evidence of their switchability under electrical and/or mechanical fields, the dynamic property of isolated ones, which is usually required for applications such as data storage, is still absent. Here, we show the controlled nucleation and motion of isolated three-fold vertices under an applied electric field. At the PbTiO 3 /SrRuO 3 interface, a two-unit-cell thick SrTiO 3 layer provides electrical boundary conditions for the formation of three-fold vertices. Utilizing the SrTiO 3 layer and in situ electrical testing system, we find that isolated three-fold vertices can move in a controllable and reversible manner with a velocity up to ~629 nm s −1 . Microstructural evolution of the nucleation and propagation of isolated three-fold vertices is further revealed by phase-field simulations. This work demonstrates the ability to electrically manipulate isolated three-fold vertices, shedding light on the dynamic property of isolated topological polar structures. Despite various known topological polar structures, the dynamic property of isolated ones is still poorly understood. Here, the authors show the controlled nucleation and ability to move of isolated three-fold vertices under an applied electric field.