Atomic-Scale Characterization of 180° Conductive Domain Walls in PbZrTiO.

Conductive domain walls (DWs) in ferroic materials have emerged as promising candidates for applications in nanoelectronics due to their unique properties such as high conductivity and nonvolatility. In this study, we investigate the atomic structure and conductivity of nominally neutral 180° DWs artificially created in an epitaxial thin film of tetragonal PbZrTiO. Using piezoresponse force microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy, we elucidate the complex structure of these 180° DWs and their coupling with ferroelastic domains, revealing that they exhibit a complex structure due to the strain-mediated interplay with the ferroelastic domains.

Direct Epitaxial Growth of Polar HfZrO Films on Corundum.

Single-phase epitaxial HfZrO films with non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic structure have been grown directly on electrode-free corundum (α-AlO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. A combination of high-resolution X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms the epitaxial growth of high-quality films belonging to the 2 space group, with [111] out-of-plane orientation. The surface of a 7-nm-thick sample exhibits an atomic step-terrace structure with a corrugation of the order of one atomic layer, as proved by atomic force microscopy.