Nanoscale ferroelectric manipulation of magnetic flux quanta

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how ferroelectric domain structures in heterostructures can be used to manipulate magnetic flux quanta at the nanoscale, enabling reversible control of superconducting properties.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of nanoscale ferroelectric manipulation of magnetic flux quanta using heterostructures combining ferroelectric and superconducting materials.

Findings

Nanoscale ferroelectric domain patterns modulate superconducting regions.

Magnetic flux quanta can be electrostatically manipulated via ferroelectric polarization.

Reversible design of ferroelectric domains enables dynamic control of magnetic flux.

Abstract

Using heterostructures that combine a large-polarization ferroelectric (BiFeO3) and a high-temperature superconductor (YBa2Cu3O7-{\delta}), we demonstrate the modulation of the superconducting condensate at the nanoscale via ferroelectric field effects. Through this mechanism, a nanoscale pattern of normal regions that mimics the ferroelectric domain structure can be created in the superconductor. This yields an energy landscape for magnetic flux quanta and, in turn, couples the local ferroelectric polarization to the local magnetic induction. We show that this form of magnetoelectric coupling, together with the possibility to reversibly design the ferroelectric domain structure, allows the electrostatic manipulation of magnetic flux quanta.