Observation of switchable polar skyrmion bubbles down to the atomic layers in van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6

Polar skyrmions are topologically nontrivial polarization textures that demonstrate exotic physical phenomena and novel memory applications. Thus far, these textures have primarily been reported in oxide-ferroelectric-based epitaxial heterostructures because their stabilization requires an elastic energy penalty from the epitaxial strains. Here, without the epitaxial-strain engineering, we discover polar skyrmion bubbles in stand-alone van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> crystal through the combination of piezoelectric force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and phase-field simulations. In a thick CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> flake of over -100 nm, skyrmion bubbles feature an elliptical hedgehog-like state with center-divergent or center-convergent configurations. Progressively thinning the flake thickness to -8 nm allows a topological transition from elliptical to circular skyrmionic patterns. Interestingly, the skyrmions can be switched with the change in helicity by probe-applied electrical and mechanical stimuli, which is distinct from the creation and annihilation of other reported skyrmions. Both theoretical and experimental data proves that the formation and thickness-dependence of skyrmion textures primarily stem from charge-related energy penalty. This work opens up a new material system (i.e., two-dimensional layered ferroionic materials) for exploring uncharted polar-topology physics and prospective neuromorphic devices.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-03-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57714-9
Citations
10
Primary Topic
Multiferroics and related materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.27

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article

Observation of switchable polar skyrmion bubbles down to the atomic layers in van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6

He Tian, Hongzhi Zhou, Peng Han, Peiran Tong et al.
10 citations
Nature Communications
Multiferroics and related materials
4.27
article

Observation of switchable polar skyrmion bubbles down to the atomic layers in van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6

He Tian, Hongzhi Zhou, Peng Han, Peiran Tong, Zhongyi Wang, Bin Yu, Peng Chen, Fei Xue, Jian Sun, Senfu Zhang, Xingsen Gao, N. L. Wang, Haiming Zhu, Youyou Yuan, Xixiang Zhang, Yang Xu, Kai Chang, Chenhui Zhang, Haoran Xu, Yinchang Ma, Hua Wang, Jie Wang, Hongliang Chen, Chao Huan, Yong Li Peng, Sizheng Zheng, Youshui He, Baoyu Wang
article en
10 citations

Abstract

Polar skyrmions are topologically nontrivial polarization textures that demonstrate exotic physical phenomena and novel memory applications. Thus far, these textures have primarily been reported in oxide-ferroelectric-based epitaxial heterostructures because their stabilization requires an elastic energy penalty from the epitaxial strains. Here, without the epitaxial-strain engineering, we discover polar skyrmion bubbles in stand-alone van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> crystal through the combination of piezoelectric force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and phase-field simulations. In a thick CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> flake of over -100 nm, skyrmion bubbles feature an elliptical hedgehog-like state with center-divergent or center-convergent configurations. Progressively thinning the flake thickness to -8 nm allows a topological transition from elliptical to circular skyrmionic patterns. Interestingly, the skyrmions can be switched with the change in helicity by probe-applied electrical and mechanical stimuli, which is distinct from the creation and annihilation of other reported skyrmions. Both theoretical and experimental data proves that the formation and thickness-dependence of skyrmion textures primarily stem from charge-related energy penalty. This work opens up a new material system (i.e., two-dimensional layered ferroionic materials) for exploring uncharted polar-topology physics and prospective neuromorphic devices.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Central South University (CN), Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (CN), South China Normal University (CN), Zhejiang Lab (CN), State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University of Technology (CN), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA), Zhejiang University (CN), Lanzhou University (CN), University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Multiferroics and related materials
4.27
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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