SKM 2023 – scientific programme

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KFM: Fachverband Kristalline Festkörper und deren Mikrostruktur

KFM 4: Focus: Domains and Domainwalls in (Multi)Ferroic II

KFM 4.5: Talk

Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 10:45–11:05, POT 51

Revealing hidden ferroelectric domain walls in sub-surface regions and their electronic properties via non-destructive conductance mapping — •Jiali He¹, Manuel Zahn^1,2, Leonie Richarz¹, Ursula Ludacka¹, Erik D. Roede¹, Zewu Yan^3,4, Edith Bourret⁴, István Kézsmárki², and Dennis Meier¹ — ¹NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway — ²Universität Augsburg, Germany — ³ETH Zurich, Switzerland — ⁴Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

Ferroelectric domain walls hold great promise for next-generation nanoelectronics. In particular, charged domain walls in improper ferroelectrics have triggered conceptually new application strategies. Although it is known that the electronic properties of domain walls are determined by their charge state, orientation, and curvature, non-destructive measurements of these parameters remain a major challenge. We investigate the correlation between electronic surface properties and hidden ferroelectric domain walls in ErMnO₃. By recording conductance maps using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and conductive atomic force microscopy (cAFM) in combination with FIB-nanostructuring, we reveal that domain walls in surface-near regions give rise to distinct variations in surface contrast. The findings are rationalized in a simplified model, linking the contrast variations to the local charged state of the hidden domain walls, their orientation and distance from the surface. Our work introduces novel strategies to analyze the physical properties of ferroelectric domain walls in surface-near regions with nanoscale resolution in a non-destructive way.