TY - JOUR
T1 - Observation of Atomic-Scale Polar Vortex-Antivortex Pairs in Antiferroelectric PbZrO3 Thin Films
AU - Wei, Xian Kui
AU - Xu, Ke
AU - Vaideeswaran, Kaushik
AU - Mayer, Joachim
AU - Huang, Houbing
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2025/5/28
Y1 - 2025/5/28
N2 - Topological polar structures, in analogy to spin vortices and skyrmions, have received tremendous attention for their fascinating prospects in future device applications. However, in the widely studied ferroelectric-based superlattices, the epitaxial heterointerfaces, yielding desired strain, depolarization, and gradient energies, greatly confine the mobility of the topological solitons. Here, we report observation of polar vortex-antivortex pairs near junctions of antiphase boundaries in antiferroelectric PbZrO3 thin films by using atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Our temporal-resolved lattice analysis reveals that the local strain gradient caused by an incommensurate modulation constructs the smallest topological units reported to date. Our phase-field simulations unveil that the Pb-O vacancy-induced random electric fields account for their three-dimensional formation, and the stimulus of electron-beam irradiation can drive their dynamic migration. The findings offer a new approach to comprehend fundamental physics about antiferroelectricity and the design of functional devices based on topological structures in antiferroelectric thin films.
AB - Topological polar structures, in analogy to spin vortices and skyrmions, have received tremendous attention for their fascinating prospects in future device applications. However, in the widely studied ferroelectric-based superlattices, the epitaxial heterointerfaces, yielding desired strain, depolarization, and gradient energies, greatly confine the mobility of the topological solitons. Here, we report observation of polar vortex-antivortex pairs near junctions of antiphase boundaries in antiferroelectric PbZrO3 thin films by using atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Our temporal-resolved lattice analysis reveals that the local strain gradient caused by an incommensurate modulation constructs the smallest topological units reported to date. Our phase-field simulations unveil that the Pb-O vacancy-induced random electric fields account for their three-dimensional formation, and the stimulus of electron-beam irradiation can drive their dynamic migration. The findings offer a new approach to comprehend fundamental physics about antiferroelectricity and the design of functional devices based on topological structures in antiferroelectric thin films.
KW - Antiferroelectric perovskite
KW - dynamic migration
KW - incommensurate modulation
KW - polar vortex−antivortex pairs
KW - scanning transmission electron microscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105005634990&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c01506
DO - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c01506
M3 - Article
C2 - 40380942
AN - SCOPUS:105005634990
SN - 1530-6984
VL - 25
SP - 8655
EP - 8662
JO - Nano Letters
JF - Nano Letters
IS - 21
ER -