Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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DF: Fachverband Dielektrische Festkörper

DF 14: Multiferroics II (DF with DS/KR/MA/TT)

DF 14.8: Talk

Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 17:20–17:35, EB 107

Optical investigation of ferroic domains beyond the resolution limit — •Christoph Wetli, Viktor Wegmayr, Thomas Lottermoser, and Manfred Fiebig — Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

In recent years optical second harmonic generation (SHG) has been shown to be a versatile, non-destructive tool to investigate the often complex domain structures of ferroic and multiferroic materials. Ferroic domains vary broadly in structure and size, depending on the nature of the ferroic ordering. So far, however SHG was restricted to domains larger than the optical resolution limit of 1 µm. Here we present a method by applying a numerical model and simulation to overcome this limitation and to analyze ferroic domain structures some orders of magnitude smaller than the optical resolution limit. The method is based on the relation between the orientation of the ferroic order parameter and the phase of the nonlinear optical signal. It gives a relation between domain size and density, optical resolution and the intensity of the SHG signal. To show the reliability of the model, we applied it to several simulated domain structures. The simulation of the domain structures is based on an iterative geometrical algorithm, which allows us to generate complex domain patterns like the ferroelectric vortex structures or the irregular bubble like antiferromagnetic domains in hexagonal YMnO₃. The numerical calculations were compared with experimental data and found to be in excellent agreement.