Pinning of Ferroelectric Bloch Wall at a Paraelectric Layer

TL;DR

This study uses phase-field simulations to demonstrate that a thin paraelectric layer in BaTiO3 - SrTiO3 superlattices can effectively pin ferroelectric domain walls and alter their structure, offering insights into domain wall control.

Contribution

It reveals that a paraelectric layer of comparable thickness to the domain wall can pin and unwind ferroelectric Bloch walls, a novel mechanism for domain wall manipulation.

Findings

Paraelectric layers can pin ferroelectric domain walls effectively.

Such layers can unwind the structure of Bloch walls.

Pinning efficiency depends on layer thickness.

Abstract

Phase-field simulations of domain walls between antiparallel ferroelectric domains in BaTiO3 - SrTiO3 crystalline superlattices suggest that a paraelectric layer with a thickness comparable to the thickness of the domain wall itself can act as an efficient pinning layer. Moreover, such layer is capable to unwind the characteristic structure of a ferroelectric Bloch wall passing through it.