Domain switching kinetics in ferroelectric PbTiO3 nanostructures

We demonstrate the ferroelectric domain switching kinetics of PbTiO3 nanostructures. Using a novel combination of techniques such as nanointaglio and dip-pen nanolithography, PbTiO3 nanostructures were fabricated on the surface of SrTiO3 thin film. The domain switching behavior in the PbTiO3 nanostructures was investigated through piezoelectric force microscopy by observing the evolution of the ferroelectric domain in real time. In accordance with the domain wall speed driven by an applied electric field, the PbTiO3 nanorod exhibited fast domain switching behavior compared to the PbTiO3 thin film. This is attributed to the lesser activation energy of domain switching in the PbTiO3 nanorod compared to the PbTiO3 thin film, according to Merz's law. Our results reveal novel domain switching in the nanostructures at nanoscale resolution, providing new insight that can be utilized for realizing applications of highly integrated and fast ferroelectric random access memory. (C) 2021Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.