Vortex states in a PbTiO$_3$ ferroelectric cylinder

TL;DR

This paper investigates vortex-like polarization structures in PbTiO$_3$ nanocylinders, revealing how geometry and temperature influence vortex core orientation through phase-field modeling and analytical methods.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analysis of topological vortex states in ferroelectric nanocylinders, highlighting the effects of geometry and temperature on vortex orientation.

Findings

Vortex core orientation depends on cylinder geometry.

Temperature influences vortex stability and configuration.

Phase-field modeling captures the vortex formation mechanisms.

Abstract

The past decade's discovery of topological excitations in nanoscale ferroelectrics has turned the prevailing view that the polar ground state in these materials is uniform. However, the systematic understanding of the topological polar structures in ferroelectrics is still on track. Here we study stable vortex-like textures of polarization in the nanocylinders of ferroelectric PbTiO$_3$, arising due to the competition of the elastic and electrostatic interactions. Using the phase-field numerical modeling and analytical calculations, we show that the orientation of the vortex core with respect to the cylinder axis is tuned by the geometrical parameters and temperature of the system.