Electrostatic topology of ferroelectric domains in YMnO$_3$

TL;DR

This study uses piezoresponse force microscopy to reveal the electrostatic-driven three-dimensional topology of ferroelectric domains in YMnO₃, highlighting the influence of electrostatic effects on domain behavior and switching.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed 3D visualization of ferroelectric domains in YMnO₃, emphasizing electrostatic effects as key to understanding domain topology and switching phenomena.

Findings

Domains are dominated by electrostatic effects over 100 unit cells.

Electrostatic origin of polarization influences domain topology.

Local electric fields affect domain switching behavior.

Abstract

Trimerization-polarization domains in ferroelectric hexagonal YMnO$_3$ were resolved in all three spatial dimensions by piezoresponse force microscopy. Their topology is dominated by electrostatic effects with a range of 100 unit cells and reflects the unusual electrostatic origin of the spontaneous polarization. The response of the domains to locally applied electric fields explains difficulties in transferring YMnO$_3$ into a single-domain state. Our results demonstrate that the wealth of non-displacive mechanisms driving ferroelectricity that emerged from the research on multiferroics are a rich source of alternative types of domains and domain-switching phenomena.