Electrical conduction at domain walls in multiferroic BiFeO3

ORAL

Abstract

We report the observation of room temperature electronic conductivity at ferroelectric domain walls in BiFeO3. The origin and nature of the observed conductivity is probed using a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and first-principles density functional computations. We show that a structurally driven change in both the electrostatic potential and local electronic structure (i.e., a decrease in band gap) at the domain wall leads to the observed electrical conductivity. We estimate the conductivity in the wall to be several orders of magnitude higher than for the bulk material. Additionally we demonstrate the potential for device applications of such conducting nanoscale features.

*This work is supported by the US DOE, ONR MURI, NSF Chemical Bonding Center program, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

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Authors

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

  • J. Seidel

    • University of Califonia at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley
    • UC Santa Barbara
    • University of Cambridge
    • FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
    • Oakridge National Lab
    • Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
    • TU Dresden, Germany
    • National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
    • Department of Physics, and Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
    • Department of Physics, UC Berkeley