Direct observation of multiferroic vortex domains in YMnO3.
Topological vortices with swirling ferroelectric, magnetic and structural anti-phase relationship in hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Ho to Lu, Y, and Sc) have attracted much attention because of their intriguing behaviors. Herein, we report the structure of multiferroic vortex domains in YMnO3 at atomic scale using state-of-the-art aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Two types of displacements were identified among six domain walls (DWs); six translation-ferroelectric domains denoted by α+, γ-, β+, α-, γ+ and β-, respectively, were recognized, demonstrating the interlocking nature of the anti-vortex domain. We found that the anti-vortex core is about four unit cells wide. In addition, we reconstructed the vortex model with three swirling pairs of DWs along the [001] direction. These results are very critical for the understanding of topological behaviors and unusual properties of the multiferroic vortex.
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Qinghua
Q
Zhang
Guotai
G
Tan
Lin
L
Gu
Yuan
Y
Yao
Changqing
C
Jin
Yanguo
Y
Wang
Xiaofeng
X
Duan
Richeng
R
Yu