Motion and teleportation of polar bubbles in low-dimensional ferroelectrics

Motion and teleportation of polar bubbles in low-dimensional ferroelectrics

09 January 2024 | S. Prokhorenko, Y. Nahas, V. Govinden, Q. Zhang, N. Valanoor, L. Bellaiche
Electric bubbles, sub-10nm spherical vortices of electric dipoles, can spontaneously form in ultra-thin ferroelectrics. While their static properties are well understood, little is known about their dynamics. This study explores both spontaneous and controlled dynamics of electric bubbles in ultra-thin Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 films. Under low screening conditions, electric bubbles exhibit thermally driven chaotic motion, leading to a liquid-like state. In high screening regimes, bubbles remain static but can be displaced by local electric fields. The study also predicts and experimentally demonstrates bubble teleportation, where a bubble is transferred to a new location via a single electric field pulse from a Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) tip. These phenomena are attributed to the hierarchical structure of the energy landscape, which includes multiple basins and sub-minima. The findings open new avenues for technological applications, such as dynamically reconfigurable electronic circuits and stochastic computing.Electric bubbles, sub-10nm spherical vortices of electric dipoles, can spontaneously form in ultra-thin ferroelectrics. While their static properties are well understood, little is known about their dynamics. This study explores both spontaneous and controlled dynamics of electric bubbles in ultra-thin Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 films. Under low screening conditions, electric bubbles exhibit thermally driven chaotic motion, leading to a liquid-like state. In high screening regimes, bubbles remain static but can be displaced by local electric fields. The study also predicts and experimentally demonstrates bubble teleportation, where a bubble is transferred to a new location via a single electric field pulse from a Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) tip. These phenomena are attributed to the hierarchical structure of the energy landscape, which includes multiple basins and sub-minima. The findings open new avenues for technological applications, such as dynamically reconfigurable electronic circuits and stochastic computing.
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Understanding Motion and teleportation of polar bubbles in low-dimensional ferroelectrics