Deterministic Switching in Bismuth Ferrite Nanoislands

Alessio Morelli, Florian Johann, Stuart R. Burns, Alan Douglas, J. Marty Gregg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)
78 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We report deterministic selection of polarization variant in bismuth BiFeO3 nanoislands via a two-step scanning probe microscopy procedure. The polarization orientation in a nanoisland is toggled to the desired variant after a reset operation by scanning a conductive atomic force probe in contact over the surface while a bias is applied. The final polarization variant is determined by the direction of the inhomogeneous in-plane trailing field associated with the moving probe tip. This work provides the framework for better control of switching in rhombohedral ferroelectrics and for a deeper understanding of exchange coupling in multiferroic nanoscale heterostructures toward the realization of magnetoelectric devices.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5228-5234
Number of pages7
JournalNano Letters
Volume16
Issue number8
Early online date25 Jul 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 10 Aug 2016

Keywords

  • Bismuth ferrite
  • multiferroics
  • nanoislands
  • polarization switching
  • scanning probe microscopy

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