期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2020
卷号：117
期号：32
页码：18954-18961
DOI：10.1073/pnas.2007248117
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：The ability to controllably manipulate complex topological polar configurations such as polar flux-closures via external stimuli may allow the construction of new electromechanical and nanoelectronic devices. Here, using atomically resolved in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy, we find that the polar flux-closures in PbTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 superlattice films are mobile and can be reversibly switched to ordinary single ferroelectric c or a domains under an applied electric field or stress. Specifically, the electric field initially drives movement of a flux-closure via domain wall motion and then breaks it to form intermediate a / c striped domains, whereas mechanical stress first squeezes the core of a flux-closure toward the interface and then form a / c domains with disappearance of the core. After removal of the external stimulus, the flux-closure structure spontaneously recovers. These observations can be precisely reproduced by phase field simulations, which also reveal the evolutions of the competing energies during phase transitions. Such reversible switching between flux-closures and ordinary ferroelectric states provides a foundation for potential electromechanical and nanoelectronic applications.
