Observation of Antiferroelectric Domain Walls in a Uniaxial Hyperferroelectric
Ferroelectric domain walls are a rich source of emergent electronic properties and unusual polar order. Recent studies show that the configuration of ferroelectric walls can go well beyond the conventional Ising-type structure. Néel-, Bloch-, and vortex-like polar patterns have been observed, displaying strong similarities with the spin textures at magnetic domain walls. Here, the discovery of antiferroelectric domain walls in the uniaxial ferroelectric Pb<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub>O<sub>11</sub> is reported. Highly mobile domain walls with an alternating displacement of Pb atoms are resolved, resulting in a cyclic 180° flip of dipole direction within the wall. Density functional theory calculations show that Pb<sub>5</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub>O<sub>11</sub> is hyperferroelectric, allowing the system to overcome the depolarization fields that usually suppress the antiparallel ordering of dipoles along the longitudinal direction. Interestingly, the antiferroelectric walls observed under the electron beam are energetically more costly than basic head-to-head or tail-to-tail walls. The results suggest a new type of excited domain-wall state, expanding previous studies on ferroelectric domain walls into the realm of antiferroic phenomena.
Authors
- Colin Ophus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2348-8558)
- Alexei L. Gruverman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0492-2750)
- Didrik R. Småbråten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7155-7178)
- Ulrich Aschauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1165-6377)
- Kasper A. Hunnestad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1732-3634)
- U. Bangert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7511-7663)
- Dennis Meier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8623-6705)
- Quentin M. Ramasse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7466-2283)
- Kalani Moore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5962-2651)
- Massimiliano Stengel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4175-3888)
- Michele Conroy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6658-1819)
- Sverre M. Selbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5838-8632)
- J. M. Gregg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6451-7768)
- Konstantin Shapovalov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7978-2986)
Institutions
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- University of Bern (CH)
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- University of Liège (BE)
- University of Salzburg (AT)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
- University of Limerick (IE)
- Henry Royce Institute (GB)
- Sci-Tech Daresbury (GB)
- Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ES)
- Direct Electron (United States) (US)
- Imperial College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2024-08-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202405150
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.35
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- University of Bern
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- European Commission
- Science Foundation Ireland
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Norges Forskningsråd
- Office of Science
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- European Research Council
- Division of Materials Research
- Basic Energy Sciences