Berlin 2018 – wissenschaftliches Programm

Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe

KFM: Fachverband Kristalline Festkörper und deren Mikrostruktur

KFM 6: Ferroelectric Domain Walls II (joint session KFM/TT)

KFM 6.2: Vortrag

Montag, 12. März 2018, 15:30–15:45, EMH 225

First-principles prediction of electric skyrmions — •Mauro Gonçalves^1,2, Carlos Escorihuela-Sayalero¹, Pablo García-Fernández², Javier Junquera², and Jorge Íñiguez¹ — ¹Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Belvaux, Luxembourg — ²Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain

Nowadays, nontrivial topological spin structures like skyrmions are a focus of interest, as they open the door to novel nano-technologies with huge potential impact. Some authors have discussed electric skyrmions, whereby an exotic arrangement of electric dipoles would yield skyrmion-like structures in ferroelectric materials. Indeed, the recent experimental discovery of a dipole vortices in PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattices [1] has added to earlier theoretical predictions of skyrmions in ferroelectric nano-composites [2], and the possibility of stabilizing electric skyrmions currently attracting a lot of attention.

Following these ideas, we have used first-principles model potentials and large-scale lattice-dynamical simulations [3] to investigate the behavior of ferroelectric nano-domains immersed in a big domain of opposite polarization. Our simulations yield the first prediction of an electric skyrmion in a single phase material. We have also found that these dipole structures can be controlled applying an epitaxial strain or external electric fields, which may open the door to interesting physics and applications.

[1] Damodaran, A. R. et al., Nature Materials 16, 1003 EP (2017).

[2] Nahas, Y. et al., Nature Communications 6, 8542 EP (2015).

[3] J.C. Wojdeł, et al., J. Phys.:Condens. Matter 25, 305401 (2013).