Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry
Abstract Nanoscale electrostatic control of oxide interfaces enables physical phenomena and exotic functionalities beyond the realm of the bulk material. In technologically-relevant ferroelectric thin films, the interface-mediated polarization control is usually exerted by engineering the depolarizi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60176-8 |
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| author | Ipek Efe Alexander Vogel William S. Huxter Elzbieta Gradauskaite Iaroslav Gaponenko Patrycja Paruch Christian L. Degen Marta D. Rossell Manfred Fiebig Morgan Trassin |
| author_facet | Ipek Efe Alexander Vogel William S. Huxter Elzbieta Gradauskaite Iaroslav Gaponenko Patrycja Paruch Christian L. Degen Marta D. Rossell Manfred Fiebig Morgan Trassin |
| author_sort | Ipek Efe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Nanoscale electrostatic control of oxide interfaces enables physical phenomena and exotic functionalities beyond the realm of the bulk material. In technologically-relevant ferroelectric thin films, the interface-mediated polarization control is usually exerted by engineering the depolarizing field. Here, in contrast, we introduce polarizing surfaces and lattice chemistry engineering as an alternative strategy. Specifically, we engineer the electric-dipole ordering in ferroelectric oxide heterostructures by exploiting the charged sheets of the layered Aurivillius model system. By tracking in-situ the formation of the Aurivillius charged Bi2O2 sheets, we reveal their polarizing effect leading to the characteristic Aurivillius out-of-plane antipolar ordering. Next, we use the polarizing Bi2O2 stacking as a versatile electrostatic environment to create new electric dipole configurations. We insert multiferroic BiFeO3 into the Aurivillius framework to stabilize a ferrielectric-like non-collinear electric-dipole order in the final heterostructure while maintaining the antiferromagnetic order of BiFeO3. We thus demonstrate that engineering the lattice chemistry stabilizes unconventional ferroic orderings at the nanoscale, a strategy that may be expanded beyond the realm of electrically ordered materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dd3dbfeec3de46e58a5bd6157fbba3c7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-dd3dbfeec3de46e58a5bd6157fbba3c72025-08-20T04:01:35ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-60176-8Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistryIpek Efe0Alexander Vogel1William S. Huxter2Elzbieta Gradauskaite3Iaroslav Gaponenko4Patrycja Paruch5Christian L. Degen6Marta D. Rossell7Manfred Fiebig8Morgan Trassin9Department of Materials, ETH ZurichElectron Microscopy Center, EmpaDepartment of Physics, ETH ZurichDepartment of Materials, ETH ZurichDepartment of Quantum Matter Physics, University of GenevaDepartment of Quantum Matter Physics, University of GenevaDepartment of Physics, ETH ZurichElectron Microscopy Center, EmpaDepartment of Materials, ETH ZurichDepartment of Materials, ETH ZurichAbstract Nanoscale electrostatic control of oxide interfaces enables physical phenomena and exotic functionalities beyond the realm of the bulk material. In technologically-relevant ferroelectric thin films, the interface-mediated polarization control is usually exerted by engineering the depolarizing field. Here, in contrast, we introduce polarizing surfaces and lattice chemistry engineering as an alternative strategy. Specifically, we engineer the electric-dipole ordering in ferroelectric oxide heterostructures by exploiting the charged sheets of the layered Aurivillius model system. By tracking in-situ the formation of the Aurivillius charged Bi2O2 sheets, we reveal their polarizing effect leading to the characteristic Aurivillius out-of-plane antipolar ordering. Next, we use the polarizing Bi2O2 stacking as a versatile electrostatic environment to create new electric dipole configurations. We insert multiferroic BiFeO3 into the Aurivillius framework to stabilize a ferrielectric-like non-collinear electric-dipole order in the final heterostructure while maintaining the antiferromagnetic order of BiFeO3. We thus demonstrate that engineering the lattice chemistry stabilizes unconventional ferroic orderings at the nanoscale, a strategy that may be expanded beyond the realm of electrically ordered materials.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60176-8 |
| spellingShingle | Ipek Efe Alexander Vogel William S. Huxter Elzbieta Gradauskaite Iaroslav Gaponenko Patrycja Paruch Christian L. Degen Marta D. Rossell Manfred Fiebig Morgan Trassin Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry Nature Communications |
| title | Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry |
| title_full | Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry |
| title_fullStr | Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry |
| title_short | Nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry |
| title_sort | nanoscale electrostatic control in ferroelectric thin films through lattice chemistry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60176-8 |
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