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Tunable metallic conductance in ferroelectric nanodomains
Peter Maksymovych1, Anna N Morozovska, Pu Yu
1Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA. maksymovychp@ornl.gov
Nano Letters
|December 21, 2011
Summary
Researchers achieved a localized insulator-metal transition in ferroelectric materials by switching polarization. This breakthrough, observed in lead-zirconate titanate nanodomains, opens new avenues for electronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Solid-State Chemistry
Background:
- Charged ferroelectric domain walls were theoretically predicted to exhibit metallic conductance over 40 years ago.
- Achieving an insulator-metal transition solely via polarization charges in non-conductive materials has been a long-standing experimental challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally demonstrate a localized insulator-metal transition in ferroelectric materials without chemical modification.
- To investigate the role of ferroelectric nanodomains and their boundaries in inducing metallic conductance.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing nanoscale polarization switching in insulating ferroelectric lead-zirconate titanate.
- Analyzing the conductivity of ferroelectric nanodomains and extended domain walls.
Main Results:
- A localized insulator-metal transition was repeatedly induced by nanoscale polarization switching.
- Metallic conductance was observed specifically in ferroelectric nanodomains, attributed to tilted domain boundaries.
- Extended domain walls and surfaces exhibited thermally activated conductivity, distinct from nanodomains.
Conclusions:
- Ferroelectric nanodomains, acting as tunable homointerfaces, enable localized insulator-metal transitions.
- The size of ferroelectric nanodomains can be controlled via electric fields to encode nonvolatile metallic states.
- This work paves the way for novel electronic applications based on polarization-controlled conductivity.
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