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Quantification of flexoelectricity in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattice polar vortices using machine learning and phase-field modeling

Author

Listed:
  • Q. Li

    (Institute for Functional Imaging of Materials and Center for Nanophase Materials Science)

  • C. T. Nelson

    (University of California
    Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • S.-L. Hsu

    (University of California)

  • A. R. Damodaran

    (University of California)

  • L.-L. Li

    (Institute for Functional Imaging of Materials and Center for Nanophase Materials Science)

  • A. K. Yadav

    (University of California)

  • M. McCarter

    (University of California)

  • L. W. Martin

    (University of California
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • R. Ramesh

    (University of California)

  • S. V. Kalinin

    (Institute for Functional Imaging of Materials and Center for Nanophase Materials Science)

Abstract

Flexoelectricity refers to electric polarization generated by heterogeneous mechanical strains, namely strain gradients, in materials of arbitrary crystal symmetries. Despite more than 50 years of work on this effect, an accurate identification of its coupling strength remains an experimental challenge for most materials, which impedes its wide recognition. Here, we show the presence of flexoelectricity in the recently discovered polar vortices in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices based on a combination of machine-learning analysis of the atomic-scale electron microscopy imaging data and phenomenological phase-field modeling. By scrutinizing the influence of flexocoupling on the global vortex structure, we match theory and experiment using computer vision methodologies to determine the flexoelectric coefficients for PbTiO3 and SrTiO3. Our findings highlight the inherent, nontrivial role of flexoelectricity in the generation of emergent complex polarization morphologies and demonstrate a viable approach to delineating this effect, conducive to the deeper exploration of both topics.

Suggested Citation

  • Q. Li & C. T. Nelson & S.-L. Hsu & A. R. Damodaran & L.-L. Li & A. K. Yadav & M. McCarter & L. W. Martin & R. Ramesh & S. V. Kalinin, 2017. "Quantification of flexoelectricity in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattice polar vortices using machine learning and phase-field modeling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-017-01733-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01733-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Sixu Wang & Wei Li & Chenguang Deng & Zijian Hong & Han-Bin Gao & Xiaolong Li & Yueliang Gu & Qiang Zheng & Yongjun Wu & Paul G. Evans & Jing-Feng Li & Ce-Wen Nan & Qian Li, 2024. "Giant electric field-induced second harmonic generation in polar skyrmions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Feng-Hui Gong & Yun-Long Tang & Yu-Jia Wang & Yu-Ting Chen & Bo Wu & Li-Xin Yang & Yin-Lian Zhu & Xiu-Liang Ma, 2023. "Absence of critical thickness for polar skyrmions with breaking the Kittel’s law," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.

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