Abstract
Mechanical pressure controls the structural, electric, and magnetic order in solid-state systems, allowing tailoring of their physical properties. A well-established example is ferroelastic ferroelectrics, where the coupling between pressure and the primary symmetry-breaking order parameter enables hysteretic switching of the strain state and ferroelectric domain engineering. Here, we study the pressure-driven response in a nonferroelastic ferroelectric, ErMnO₃, where the classical stress–strain coupling is absent and the domain formation is governed by creation–annihilation processes of topological defects. By annealing ErMnO₃ polycrystals under variable pressures in the MPa regime, we transform nonferroelastic vortex-like domains into stripe-like domains. The width of the stripe-like domains is determined by the applied pressure as we confirm by three-dimensional phase field simulations, showing that pressure leads to oriented layer-like periodic domains. Our work demonstrates the possibility to utilize mechanical pressure for domain engineering in nonferroelastic ferroelectrics, providing a lever to control their dielectric and piezoelectric responses. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000625528Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Nano LettersVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
American Chemical SocietySubject
Chemical structure; Crystal structure; Crystallography; Grain; Polarization; topologically protected defects; piezoresponse force microscopy; domain engineering; mechanical pressure; improper ferroelectricsOrganisational unit
03918 - Fiebig, Manfred / Fiebig, Manfred
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