Mixed Ising-Bloch-N\'eel Character to 180 $^{\circ}$ Ferroelectric Domain Walls

ORAL

Abstract

Ferroelectric 180-degree domain walls are well-known to be predominantly Ising-like. Using density functional theory, and molecular dynamics simulations, the 180 degree domain walls in prototypical ferroelectrics, lead titanate (PbTiO3) and lithium niobate (LiNbO3), are shown to have mixed character: while predominantly Ising-like, they also manifest some Bloch- and N\'eel-like character. Phase-field calculations show that such mixed wall character can be dramatically enhanced in nanoscale thin film heterostructures such as BaTiO3/SrTiO3, where the internal wall structure can form polarization vortices. Such mixed character walls can be expected to exhibit dynamical wall properties distinct from pure Ising walls.

Authors

  • Venkatraman Gopalan

    Pennsylvania State University

  • Donghwa Lee

    University of Florida

  • Rakesh Behera

    University of Florida

  • Pingping Wu

    Pennsylvania State University, The Pennsylvania State University

  • Haixuan Xu

    University of Florida

  • Yulan Li

    Pacific National Laboratory

  • Simon Phillpot

    University of Florida

  • Long-Qing Chen

    Pennsylvania State University, The Pennsylvania State University