Field enhancement of electronic conductance at ferroelectric domain walls

The Ferroelectric Effects of Rhombohedral and Tetragonal BiFeO3 in Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

The phase of BiFeO3 (BFO) as well as its domain configuration can be tuned by strain engineering. Phase change may greatly influence the properties of the polarization field and hence charge separation. However, the photoelectrochemical properties of different BFO phases have rarely been addressed. Here, the photoelectrochemical study of tetragonal (T-) and rhombohedral (R-) phase BFO films was conducted under visible light illumination. The photocurrent density of R-BFO is 5 times that of T-BFO. A ferroelectric domain study shows that T-BFO features single domain structure in contrast to the polydomain structure of R-BFO. Higher charge separation efficiency is achieved in R-BFO, dominated by the domain walls as conducting pathways for efficient charge separation and transfer. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the photoelectrochemical properties of T- and R-BFO, offering valuable insights for the development of BFO-based materials for solar energy conversion.

Active Electric Dipole Energy Sources: Transduction via Electric Scalar and Vector Potentials

The creation of electromagnetic energy may be realised by engineering a device with a method of transduction, which allows an external energy source, such as mechanical, chemical, nuclear, etc., to be impressed into the electromagnetic system through a mechanism that enables the separation of opposite polarity charges. For example, a voltage generator, such as a triboelectric nanogenerator, enables the separation of charges through the transduction of mechanical energy, creating an active physical dipole in the static case, or an active Hertzian dipole in the time-dependent case. The net result is the creation of a static or time-dependent permanent polarisation, respectively, without an applied electric field and with a non-zero vector curl. This system is the dual of a magnetic solenoid or permanent magnet excited by a circulating electrical current or fictitious bound current, respectively, which supplies a magnetomotive force described by a magnetic vector potential and a magnetic geometric phase proportional to the enclosed magnetic flux. Thus, the active electric dipole voltage generator has been described macroscopically by a circulating fictitious magnetic current boundary source and exhibits an electric vector potential with an electric geometric phase proportional to the enclosed electric flux density. This macroscopic description of an active dipole is a semi-classical average description of some underlying microscopic physics, which exhibits emergent nonconservative behaviour not found in classical closed-system laws of electrodynamics. We show that the electromotive force produced by an active dipole in general has both electric scalar and vector potential components to account for the magnitude of the electromotive force it produces. Independent of the electromagnetic gauge, we show that Faraday's and Ampere's law may be derived from the time rate of change of the magnetic and dual electric geometric phases. Finally, we analyse an active cylindrical dipole in terms of scalar and vector potential and confirm that the electromotive force produced, and hence potential difference across the terminals is a combination of vector and scalar potential difference depending on the aspect ratio (AR) of the dipole. For long thin active dipoles (AR approaches 0), the electric field is suppressed inside, and the voltage is determined mainly by the electric vector potential. For large flat active dipoles (AR approaches infinity), the electric flux density is suppressed inside, and the voltage is mainly determined by the scalar potential.

Flexoelectric Domain Walls Originated from Structural Phase Transition in Epitaxial BiVO4 Films

Polar domain walls in centrosymmetric ferroelastics induce inhomogeneity that is the origin of advantageous multifunctionality. In particular, polar domain walls promote charge-carrier separation and hence are promising for energy conversion applications that overcome the hurdles of the rate-limiting step in the traditional photoelectrochemical water splitting processes. Yet, while macroscopic studies investigate the materials at the device scale, the origin of this phenomenon in general and the emergence of polar domain walls during the structural phase transition in particular has remained elusive, encumbering the development of this attractive system. Here, it is demonstrated that twin domain walls arise in centrosymmetric BiVO₄ films and they exhibit localized piezoelectricity. It is also shown that during the structural phase transition from the tetragonal to monoclinic, the symmetry reduction is accompanied by an emergence of strain gradient, giving rise to flexoelectric effect and the polar domain walls. These results not only expose the emergence of polar domain walls at centrosymmetric systems by means of direct observation, but they also expand the realm of potential application of ferroelastics, especially in photoelectrochemistry and local piezoelectricity.

Non-Ohmic Variable-Range Hopping and Resistive Switching in SrTiO_{3} Domain Walls

We report observation of electric field driven conductivity with negative differential conductance and resistive switching in insulating SrTiO_{3} samples over a wide range of applied voltages at low temperatures. The observed current follows I=I_{0}exp[-(E^{*}/E)^{1/2}] at large applied electric field, corresponding to variable range hopping conduction with a Coulomb gap in domain walls. Our data are sufficient to discriminate unambiguously between Shklovskii and Mott hopping via their different electric field exponent. Under some conditions space-charge-limited currents are observed, and the charge mobility limit is determined to be in the range of 17 and 210  cm^{2}/Vs.

Intrinsic Conductance of Domain Walls in BiFeO3

Ferroelectric domain walls exhibit a number of new functionalities that are not present in their host material. One of these functional characteristics is electrical conductivity that may lead to future device applications. Although progress has been made, the intrinsic conductivity of BiFeO₃ domain walls is still elusive. Here, the intrinsic conductivity of 71° and 109° domain walls is reported by probing the local conductance over a cross section of the BiFeO₃ /TbScO₃ (001) heterostructure. Through a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, and phase-field simulations, it is found that the 71° domain wall has an inherently charged nature, while the 109° domain wall is close to neutral. Hence, the intrinsic conductivity of the 71° domain walls is an order of magnitude larger than that of the 109° domain walls associated with bound-charge-induced bandgap lowering. Furthermore, the interaction of adjacent 71° domain walls and domain wall curvature leads to a variation of the charge distribution inside the walls, and causes a discontinuity of potential in the [110]_p direction, which results in an alternative conductivity of the neighboring 71° domain walls, and a low conductivity of the 71° domain walls when measurement is taken from the film top surface.