Domains in ferroelectric nanodots.

Almost free-standing single crystal mesoscale and nanoscale dots of ferroelectric BaTiO(3) have been made by direct focused ion beam patterning of bulk single crystal material. The domain structures which appear in these single crystal dots, after cooling through the Curie temperature, were observed to form into quadrants, with each quadrant consisting of fine 90 degrees stripe domains. The reason that these rather complex domain configurations form is uncertain, but we consider and discuss three possibilities for their genesis: first, that the quadrant features initially form to facilitate field-closure, but then develop 90 degrees shape compensating stripe domains in order to accommodate disclination stresses; second, that they are the result of the impingement of domain packets which nucleate at the sidewalls of the dots forming "Forsbergh" patterns (essentially the result of phase transition kinetics); and third, that 90 degrees domains form to conserve the shape of the nanodot as it is cooled through the Curie temperature but arrange into quadrant packets in order to minimize the energy associated with uncompensated surface charges (thus representing an equilibrium state). While the third model is the preferred one, we note that the second and third models are not mutually exclusive.

[1]  J. Scott,et al.  Domains in three-dimensional ferroelectric nanostructures: theory and experiment , 2007, cond-mat/0701177.

[2]  James F. Scott,et al.  Scaling of domain periodicity with thickness measured in BaTiO3 single crystal lamellae and comparison with other ferroics , 2006 .

[3]  J. Furuichi,et al.  Domain Structure of Rochelle Salt , 1950 .

[4]  C L Chien,et al.  Magnetic bistability and controllable reversal of asymmetric ferromagnetic nanorings. , 2006, Physical review letters.

[5]  L Bellaiche,et al.  Ultrathin films of ferroelectric solid solutions under a residual depolarizing field. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[6]  Andrei Artemev,et al.  Phase-field modeling of domain structure of confined nanoferroelectrics. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[7]  Inna Ponomareva,et al.  Original properties of dipole vortices in zero-dimensional ferroelectrics , 2008 .

[8]  A. L. Roitburd,et al.  Equilibrium structure of epitaxial layers , 1976 .

[9]  A. Munkholm,et al.  Observation of nanoscale 180 degrees stripe domains in ferroelectric PbTiO3 thin films. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[10]  R. Wiesendanger,et al.  Direct Observation of Internal Spin Structure of Magnetic Vortex Cores , 2002, Science.

[11]  O. Auciello,et al.  Ferroelectricity in Ultrathin Perovskite Films , 2004, Science.

[12]  A. Rappe,et al.  Stabilization of monodomain polarization in ultrathin PbTiO3 films. , 2006, Physical review letters.

[13]  Rafal E Dunin-Borkowski,et al.  Direct imaging of nanoscale magnetic interactions in minerals , 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  J. Scott,et al.  Applications of Modern Ferroelectrics , 2007, Science.

[15]  L. Bellaiche,et al.  Ferroelectricity in barium titanate quantum dots and wires. , 2003, Physical review letters.

[16]  A. Scholl,et al.  Vortex Core-Driven Magnetization Dynamics , 2004, Science.

[17]  J. Furuichi,et al.  Domain Structure of Rochelle Salt and K H 2 P O 4 , 1953 .

[18]  N. Setter,et al.  Ferroelectric domains and piezoelectricity in monocrystalline Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 nanowires , 2007 .

[19]  T. Trypiniotis,et al.  Antivortex domain walls observed in permalloy rings via magnetic force microscopy , 2009 .

[20]  Yasuo Cho,et al.  Nanodomain manipulation for ultrahigh density ferroelectric data storage , 2006, Nanotechnology.

[21]  Ono,et al.  Magnetic vortex core observation in circular dots of permalloy , 2000, Science.

[22]  I. Ponomareva,et al.  Controlling toroidal moment by means of an inhomogeneous static field: an ab initio study. , 2006, Physical review letters.

[23]  James F. Scott,et al.  Ferroelectric domain periodicities in nanocolumns of single crystal barium titanate , 2006 .

[24]  Sergei V. Kalinin,et al.  Conduction at domain walls in oxide multiferroics. , 2009, Nature materials.

[25]  Laurent Bellaiche,et al.  Characteristics and signatures of dipole vortices in ferroelectric nanodots : First-principles-based simulations and analytical expressions , 2007 .

[26]  Abhijit P. Suryavanshi,et al.  Ferroelectric and piezoelectric behaviors of individual single crystalline BaTiO3 nanowire under direct axial electric biasing , 2006 .

[27]  A. Bratkovsky,et al.  Vortex polarization states in nanoscale ferroelectric arrays. , 2009, Nano letters.

[28]  James F. Scott,et al.  Morphological Control of Polar Orientation in Single-Crystal Ferroelectric Nanowires , 2007 .

[29]  B. Gu,et al.  Self-organization nanodomain structure in ferroelectric ultrathin films , 2007 .

[30]  P. W. Forsbergh.  Domain Structures and Phase Transitions in Barium Titanate , 1949 .

[31]  Marin Alexe,et al.  Individually addressable epitaxial ferroelectric nanocapacitor arrays with near Tb inch-2 density. , 2008, Nature nanotechnology.

[32]  Inna Ponomareva,et al.  Low-dimensional ferroelectrics under different electrical and mechanical boundary conditions: Atomistic simulations , 2005 .

[33]  S. K. Streiffer,et al.  Observation of nanoscale 180° stripe domains in ferroelectric PbTiO3 thin films , 2002 .

[34]  Charles Kittel,et al.  Theory of the structure of ferromagnetic domains in films and small particles , 1946 .

[35]  J. Scott,et al.  Perimeter effect in very small ferroelectrics , 2003 .

[36]  Hongkun Park,et al.  Ferroelectric phase transition in individual single-crystalline BaTiO3 nanowires. , 2006, Nano letters.

[37]  L. Bellaiche,et al.  Unusual phase transitions in ferroelectric nanodisks and nanorods , 2004, Nature.

[38]  M. Alexe,et al.  Vortex ferroelectric domains , 2008 .

[39]  S. Ramakrishna,et al.  Giant strain in PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 nanowires , 2007 .