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Ferroelectric order in individual nanometre-scale crystals

Publication Type

Journal Article

Authors

Polking, M.J., M.-G. Han, A. Yourdkhani, V. Petkov, C.F. Kisielowski, V.V. Volkov, Y. Zhu, G. Caruntu, Paul Alivisatos, Ramamoorthy Ramesh

DOI

10.1038/nmat3371

Abstract

Ferroelectricity in finite-dimensional systems continues to arouse interest, motivated by predictions of vortex polarization states and the utility of ferroelectric nanomaterials in memory devices, actuators and other applications. Critical to these areas of research are the nanoscale polarization structure and scaling limit of ferroelectric order, which are determined here in individual nanocrystals comprising a single ferroelectric domain. Maps of ferroelectric structural distortions obtained from aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, combined with holographic polarization imaging, indicate the persistence of a linearly ordered and monodomain polarization state at nanometre dimensions. Room-temperature polarization switching is demonstrated down to ∼5 nm dimensions. Ferroelectric coherence is facilitated in part by control of particle morphology, which along with electrostatic boundary conditions is found to determine the spatial extent of cooperative ferroelectric distortions. This work points the way to multi-Tbit/in 2 memories and provides a glimpse of the structural and electrical manifestations of ferroelectricity down to its ultimate limits. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Journal

Nature Materials

Volume

Year of Publication

2012

ISSN

14761122

Notes

cited By 187

Research Areas

Ramesh Lab