Abstract
Reversible ferroelectric domain wall movements beyond the 10 nm range associated with Rayleigh behavior are usually restricted to specific defect-engineered systems. Here, we demonstrate that such long-range movements naturally occur in the improper ferroelectric ErMnO3 during electric-field-cycling. We study the electric-field-driven motion of domain walls, showing that they readily return to their initial position after having traveled distances exceeding 250 nm. By applying switching spectroscopy band-excitation piezoresponse force microscopy, we track the domain wall movement with nanometric spatial precision and analyze the local switching behavior. Phase field simulations show that the reversible long-range motion is intrinsic to the hexagonal manganites, linking it to their improper ferroelectricity and topologically protected structural vortex lines, which serve as anchor point for the ferroelectric domain walls. Our results give new insight into the local dynamics of domain walls in improper ferroelectrics and demonstrate the possibility to reversibly displace domain walls over much larger distances than commonly expected for ferroelectric systems in their pristine state, ensuring predictable device behavior for applications such as tunable capacitors or sensors.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1781 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2025 |
Funding
J.S. acknowledges inspiring discussions with D. Damjanovic. O. W. Sandvik is acknowledged for initial analysis of the data. M.Z. acknowledges funding from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes via a doctoral grant and the State of Bavaria via a Marianne-Plehn scholarship. J.S. and D.M. acknowledge NTNU Nano for the support through the NTNU Nano Impact Fund and funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement No. 863691). J.S. acknowledges the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through a Feodor-Lynen research fellowship and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Short-term program). D.M. thanks NTNU for support through the Onsager Fellowship Program\u00A0and the Outstanding Academic Fellow Program. A.M.M. acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through grant numbers 200021_178825 and 200021_215423.\u00A0M.Z. and I.K. acknowledge funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), TRR 360, grant number 492547816. S.V.K. acknowledges support by the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM), the NSF MRSEC center.\u00A0The scanning probe microscopy research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. J.S. acknowledges inspiring discussions with D. Damjanovic. O. W. Sandvik is acknowledged for initial analysis of the data. M.Z. acknowledges funding from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes via a doctoral grant and the State of Bavaria via a Marianne-Plehn scholarship. J.S. and D.M. acknowledge NTNU Nano for the support through the NTNU Nano Impact Fund and funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement No. 863691). J.S. acknowledges the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through a Feodor-Lynen research fellowship and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Short-term program). D.M. thanks NTNU for support through the Onsager Fellowship Program and the Outstanding Academic Fellow Program. A.M.M. acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through grant numbers 200021_178825 and 200021_215423. M.Z. and I.K. acknowledge funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), TRR 360, grant number 492547816. S.V.K. acknowledges support by the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM), the NSF MRSEC center. The scanning probe microscopy research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.