Interfacial Ferroelectricity by van der Waals Sliding
ORAL
Abstract
Despite their ionic nature, many layered diatomic crystals avoid internal electric polarization by forming a centrosymmetric lattice at their optimal anti-parallel van-der-Waals stacking. Here, we report a stable ferroelectric order emerging at the interface between two naturally-grown flakes of hexagonal-boron-nitride, which are stacked together in a metastable non-centrosymmetric parallel orientation. We observe alternating domains of inverted normal polarization, caused by a lateral shift of one lattice site between the domains. Reversible polarization switching coupled to lateral sliding is achieved by scanning a biased tip above the surface. Our calculations trace the origin of the phenomenon to a subtle interplay between charge redistribution and ionic displacement, and our minimal cohesion model predicts further venues to explore the unique "slidetronics" switching.
In the talk, I will describe how does the breaking of inversion symmetry in a bilayer hexagonal Boron Nitride causes two out-of-plane polarized states, and show how does 1.4-angstrom shift between the two layers can switch the polarization.
In the talk, I will describe how does the breaking of inversion symmetry in a bilayer hexagonal Boron Nitride causes two out-of-plane polarized states, and show how does 1.4-angstrom shift between the two layers can switch the polarization.
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Presenters
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Maayan Vizner
- Tel Aviv University
- Condensed Matter Physics, school of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv university