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Ferroelectric domain walls for nanotechnology

Nature Reviews Materials volume 7, pages 157–173 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Ferroelectric domain walls have emerged as a new type of interface in which the dynamic characteristics of ferroelectricity introduce the element of spatial mobility, allowing real-time adjustment of position, density and orientation of the walls. Because of electronic confinement, and of their distinct symmetry and chemical environment, the spatially mobile domain walls offer a wide range of functional electric and magnetic properties, representing excellent 2D components for the development of more agile next-generation nanotechnology. In this Review, we discuss how the field of domain-wall nanoelectronics evolved from classical device ideas to advanced concepts for multilevel resistance control in memristive and synaptic devices. Recent advances in modelling and atomic-scale characterization provide insight into the interaction of ferroelectric domain walls and point defects, offering additional routes for local property design. We also explore the discovery of functional domain walls in improper ferroelectrics and the intriguing possibility of developing the walls themselves into ultra-small electronic components, controlling electronic signals through their intrinsic physical properties. We conclude with a discussion of open experimental challenges and newly discovered domain-wall phenomena that may play an important role in future directions of the field.

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Fig. 1: Classical concepts for nanoelectronics based on domain walls.
Fig. 2: Functionality enabled by domain-wall/point-defect interactions.
Fig. 3: Conducting domain walls in improper ferroelectrics.
Fig. 4: Emulating the behaviour of electronic components with ferroelectric domain walls.

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Acknowledgements

D.M. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement no. 863691). The Research Council of Norway (RCN) partly supported this work through the Norwegian Micro and Nano-Fabrication Facility, NorFab (project no. 295864), and its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project no. 262633, “QuSpin”. S.M.S. and D.M. were further supported by the RCN via the FRIPRO projects 231430 and 263228, respectively.

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Meier, D., Selbach, S.M. Ferroelectric domain walls for nanotechnology. Nat Rev Mater 7, 157–173 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-021-00375-z

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