title: Super switching and control of in-plane ferroelectric nanodomains in strained thin films.
abstract: With shrinking device sizes, controlling domain formation in nanoferroelectrics becomes crucial. Periodic nanodomains that self-organize into so-called 'superdomains' have been recently observed, mainly at crystal edges or in laterally confined nanoobjects. Here we show that in extended, strain-engineered thin films, superdomains with purely in-plane polarization form to mimic the single-domain ground state, a new insight that allows a priori design of these hierarchical domain architectures. Importantly, superdomains behave like strain-neutral entities whose resultant polarization can be reversibly switched by 90°, offering promising perspectives for novel device geometries.
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Solid State Materials for Electronics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matzen
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Solid State Materials for Electronics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nesterov
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Solid State Materials for Electronics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rispens
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Solid State Materials for Electronics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Heuver
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennesee 37831, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biegalski
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennesee 37831, USA.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Christen
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Solid State Materials for Electronics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Noheda