title: Energy landscape scheme for an intuitive understanding of complex domain dynamics in ferroelectric thin films.
abstract: Fundamental understanding of domain dynamics in ferroic materials has been a longstanding issue because of its relevance to many systems and to the design of nanoscale domain-wall devices. Despite many theoretical and experimental studies, a full understanding of domain dynamics still remains incomplete, partly due to complex interactions between domain-walls and disorder. We report domain-shape-preserving deterministic domain-wall motion, which directly confirms microscopic return point memory, by observing domain-wall breathing motion in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin film using stroboscopic piezoresponse force microscopy. Spatial energy landscape that provides new insights into domain dynamics is also mapped based on the breathing motion of domain walls. The evolution of complex domain structure can be understood by the process of occupying the lowest available energy states of polarization in the energy landscape which is determined by defect-induced internal fields. Our result highlights a pathway for the novel design of ferroelectric domain-wall devices through the engineering of energy landscape using defect-induced internal fields such as flexoelectric fields.
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Correlated Electron Systems, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea [2] Department of Physics &Astronomy, Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Heon
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Suwon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do 445-743, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Gul
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Seung Hyub
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics &Astronomy, Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Woong-kyu
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Correlated Electron Systems, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea [2] Department of Physics &Astronomy, Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Mo
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics &Astronomy, Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yup Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics &Astronomy, Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Taeyuun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Soongsil University, Seoul 156-743, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Chang-Beom
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Eom
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Correlated Electron Systems, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea [2] Department of Physics &Astronomy, Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Won
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Noh