Competing effects of temperature and mechanical stress on polar vortex transition in oxide superlattices

The interplay of different forms of energies in oxide superlattices, such as elastic, electrostatic, and gradient energies, can result in a stable long-range ordered polar vortex structure at room temperature. However, the role between these energies in determining the vortex structure still remains largely elusive due to the intricate interplay. By using a comprehensive in situ TEM apparatus and a prototype system, ${\mathrm{PbTiO}}_{3}$/${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ superlattice, we demonstrate that the vortex structure undergoes a first-order transition at the temperature around 653 K, while the application of in-plane mechanical stress at such a high temperature results in the reemergence of vortex structure. Cryogenic cooling to 94 K raises the stability of vortices, which would be destabilized by loading of out-of-plane mechanical stress. The results can be reproduced and well interpreted by phase-field simulations. These findings not only reveal the competing role of the temperature and mechanical stress at atomic scale but also demonstrate a feasible way to operate the vortex-based nanodevices working in harsh environments.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Published
2024-11-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.110.195417
Primary Topic
Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Competing effects of temperature and mechanical stress on polar vortex transition in oxide superlattices

Xu Hou, Xusheng Yang, Liang Yan, Zhiyi Xu et al.
Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
article

Competing effects of temperature and mechanical stress on polar vortex transition in oxide superlattices

Xu Hou, Xusheng Yang, Liang Yan, Zhiyi Xu, Xuezeng Tian, Congbing Tan, Xuedong Bai, Zhexin Jiang, Pan Chen, Jie Wang, Peng Dong Gao, Lei Liao, Jiandi Zhang
article en

Abstract

The interplay of different forms of energies in oxide superlattices, such as elastic, electrostatic, and gradient energies, can result in a stable long-range ordered polar vortex structure at room temperature. However, the role between these energies in determining the vortex structure still remains largely elusive due to the intricate interplay. By using a comprehensive in situ TEM apparatus and a prototype system, ${\mathrm{PbTiO}}_{3}$/${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ superlattice, we demonstrate that the vortex structure undergoes a first-order transition at the temperature around 653 K, while the application of in-plane mechanical stress at such a high temperature results in the reemergence of vortex structure. Cryogenic cooling to 94 K raises the stability of vortices, which would be destabilized by loading of out-of-plane mechanical stress. The results can be reproduced and well interpreted by phase-field simulations. These findings not only reveal the competing role of the temperature and mechanical stress at atomic scale but also demonstrate a feasible way to operate the vortex-based nanodevices working in harsh environments.

Physical review. B./Physical review. BVol. 110(19)
Hunan University of Science and Technology (CN), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), Shenzhen Polytechnic University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Peking University (CN), Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (CN), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Zhejiang Lab (CN), Institute of Physics (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Zhejiang University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 87%
Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
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