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Title: Multiscale electric-field imaging of polarization vortex structures in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

Journal Article · · APL Materials
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0146713 · OSTI ID:2229303
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  2. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)
  3. University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division

In ferroelectric heterostructures, the interaction between intrinsic polarization and the electric field generates a rich set of localized electrical properties. The local electric field is determined by several connected factors, including the charge distribution of individual unit cells, the interfacial electromechanical boundary conditions, and chemical composition of the interfaces. However, especially in ferroelectric perovskites, a complete description of the local electric field across micro-, nano-, and atomic-length scales is missing. Here, by applying four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM) with multiple probe sizes matching the size of structural features, we directly image the electric field of polarization vortices in (PbTiO3)16/(SrTiO3)16 superlattices and reveal different electric field configurations corresponding to the atomic scale electronic ordering and the nanoscale boundary conditions. The separability of two different fields probed by 4D STEM offers the possibility to reveal how each contributes to the electronic properties of the film.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; SC0014430; SC0020145; ACI-1548562; TG-DMR1700006
OSTI ID:
2229303
Journal Information:
APL Materials, Vol. 11, Issue 5; ISSN 2166-532X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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