Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
1 PublicationConduction at domain walls in oxide multiferroics
Seidel, J.; Martin, L. W.; He, Q.; Zhan, Q.; Chu, Y.-H.; Rother, A.; Hawkridge, M. E.; Maksymovych, P.; Yu, P.; Gajek, M.; Balke, N.; Kalinin, S. V.; Gemming, S.; Wang, F.; Catalán, G.; Scott, J. F.; Spaldin, N. A.; Orenstein, J.; Ramesh, R.
Abstract
We report the observation of room temperature electronic conductivity at ferroelectric domain walls in BiFeO3. The origin and nature of the observed conductivity is probed using a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and first-principles density functional computations. We show that a structurally driven change in both the electrostatic potential and local electronic structure (i.e., a decrease in band gap) at the domain wall leads to the observed electrical conductivity. Additionally we demonstrate the potential for device applications of such conducting nanoscale features.
Keywords: multiferroics; domain walls; boundary conductivity; bismuth ferrate
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Nature Materials 8(2009), 229-234
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2373
Cited 1182 times in Scopus
Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-11927