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Strain-induced coupling of electrical polarization and structural defects in SrMnO3 films

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 661–665 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Local perturbations in complex oxides, such as domain walls1,2, strain3,4 and defects5,6, are of interest because they can modify the conduction or the dielectric and magnetic response, and can even promote phase transitions. Here, we show that the interaction between different types of local perturbations in oxide thin films is an additional source of functionality. Taking SrMnO3 as a model system, we use nonlinear optics to verify the theoretical prediction that strain induces a polar phase, and apply density functional theory to show that strain simultaneously increases the concentration of oxygen vacancies. These vacancies couple to the polar domain walls, where they establish an electrostatic barrier to electron migration. The result is a state with locally structured room-temperature conductivity consisting of conducting nanosized polar domains encased by insulating domain boundaries, which we resolve using scanning probe microscopy. Our ‘nanocapacitor’ domains can be individually charged, suggesting stable capacitance nanobits with a potential for information storage technology.

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Figure 1: Epitaxy and polar order of strained SrMnO3 films.
Figure 2: Patterned conductance in strained SrMnO3 films.
Figure 3: Temperature dependence of the conductance pattern.
Figure 4: Polar domains as nanocapacitors.
Figure 5: Electronic structure calculations of oxygen vacancy formation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for the allocation of synchrotron radiation beamtime and C.M. Schneider for support, as well as A. Weber of the Paul Scherrer Institute for providing reference samples for the EFM measurements. The authors thank J. Rupp and M. Kubicek for advice on the oxygen vacancy dynamics in oxide films. M.F., D.M. and M.L. acknowledge funding from grant ‘ETH-06 12-2’ and from SNF proposal no. 200021-149192. The authors acknowledge funding through the SNF R’equip Program (no. 206021-144988). M.T and C.B. thank the ETH FIRST lab for granting access to the XRD characterization platform. Financial support from Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad through projects MAT2011-27553-C02, MAT2012-38213-C02-01, MAT2014-51982-C2 and from Regional Gobierno de Aragón through project E26 is acknowledged. The TEM, XPS and XRD work was conducted in the Laboratorio de Microscopías Avanzadas at the Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón – Universidad de Zaragoza, which the authors acknowledge for offering access to instruments and expertise.

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  1. Ingo P. Krug

    Present address: Present address: Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Hardenbergstraße 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland

    Carsten Becher, Ulrich Aschauer, Martin Lilienblum, Dennis Meier, Morgan Trassin, Nicola A. Spaldin & Manfred Fiebig

  2. Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/ Mariano Esquillor, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain

    Laura Maurel, Eric Langenberg & José A. Pardo

  3. Laboratorio de Microscopías Avanzadas, Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón – ARAID, C/ Mariano Esquillor, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain

    César Magén

  4. Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/ Pedro Cerbuna 12, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain

    César Magén, Javier Blasco & Pedro A. Algarabel

  5. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, C/ Pedro Cerbuna 12, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain

    Javier Blasco & Pedro A. Algarabel

  6. Forschungszentrum Jülich, Peter-Grünberg-Institut (PGI-6), Leo-Brandt-Straße, Jülich, 52425, Germany

    Ingo P. Krug

  7. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales y Fluidos, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/ María de Luna 3, Zaragoza, 50018, Spain

    José A. Pardo

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  1. Carsten Becher
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Contributions

C.B. performed and analysed the SHG measurements. L.M. grew the samples and characterized them, together with C.M., J.B., E.L. and M.T., by XRD and STEM. M.L. and C.B. performed EFM. D.M. and I.P.K. carried out LEEM. U.A. performed the DFT calculations. P.A.A., J.A.P., N.A.S. and M.F. supervised the project.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfred Fiebig.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Becher, C., Maurel, L., Aschauer, U. et al. Strain-induced coupling of electrical polarization and structural defects in SrMnO3 films. Nature Nanotech 10, 661–665 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.108

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