The Interaction of an 180o Ferroelectric Domain Wall with a Biased Scanning Probe Microscopy Tip: Effective Wall Geometry and Thermodynamics in Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire Theory

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2008 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.78.125407· OSTI ID:1030982

Morozovska, A. N. ^[1]; Kalinin, Sergei V ^[2]; Eliseev, E. A. ^[1]; Gopalana, V. ^[3]; Svechnikov, S. V. ^[1]

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1. National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
2. ORNL
3. Pennsylvania State University

The interaction of ferroelectric 180o-domain wall with a strongly inhomogeneous electric field of biased Scanning Probe Microscope tip is analyzed within continuous Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory. Equilibrium shape of the initially flat domain wall boundary bends, attracts or repulses from the probe apex, depending on the sign and value of the applied bias. For large tip-wall separations, the probe-induced domain nucleation is possible. The approximate analytical expressions for the polarization distribution are derived using direct variational method. The expressions provide insight how the equilibrium polarization distribution depends on the wall finite-width, correlation and depolarization effects, electrostatic potential distribution of the probe and ferroelectric material parameters.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
• Sponsoring Organization: SC USDOE - Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1030982
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Journal Name: Physical Review B Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 78; ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
DEPOLARIZATION
DISTRIBUTION
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTROSTATICS
FERROELECTRIC MATERIALS
GEOMETRY
MICROSCOPES
MICROSCOPY
NUCLEATION
POLARIZATION
PROBES
SHAPE
THERMODYNAMICS
VARIATIONAL METHODS