Continuously tunable ferroelectric domain width down to the single-atomic limit in bismuth tellurite.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36202850.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-33617-x and PMC identifier 9537171.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Emerging functionalities in two-dimensional materials, such as ferromagnetism, superconductivity and ferroelectricity, open new avenues for promising nanoelectronic applications. Here, we report the discovery of intrinsic in-plane room-temperature ferroelectricity in two-dimensional Bi<sub>2</sub>TeO<sub>5</sub> grown by chemical vapor deposition, where spontaneous polarization originates from Bi column displacements. We found an intercalated buffer layer consist of mixed Bi/Te column as 180° domain wall which enables facile polarized domain engineering, including continuously tunable domain width by pinning different concentration of buffer layers, and even ferroelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition when the polarization unit is pinned down to single atomic column. More interestingly, the intercalated Bi/Te buffer layer can interconvert to polarized Bi columns which end up with series terraced domain walls and unusual fan-shaped ferroelectric domain. The buffer layer induced size and shape tunable ferroelectric domain in two-dimensional Bi<sub>2</sub>TeO<sub>5</sub> offer insights into the manipulation of functionalities in van der Waals materials for future nanoelectronics.