title: Deterministic Switching in Bismuth Ferrite Nanoislands.
abstract: We report deterministic selection of polarization variant in bismuth BiFeO3 nanoislands via a two-step scanning probe microscopy procedure. The polarization orientation in a nanoisland is toggled to the desired variant after a reset operation by scanning a conductive atomic force probe in contact over the surface while a bias is applied. The final polarization variant is determined by the direction of the inhomogeneous in-plane trailing field associated with the moving probe tip. This work provides the framework for better control of switching in rhombohedral ferroelectrics and for a deeper understanding of exchange coupling in multiferroic nanoscale heterostructures toward the realization of magnetoelectric devices.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nanostructured Media, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast , University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics , D-06120 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Johann
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nanostructured Media, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast , University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stuart R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nanostructured Media, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast , University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nanostructured Media, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast , University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J Marty
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gregg
keywords: Bismuth ferrite; multiferroics; nanoislands; polarization switching; scanning probe microscopy