Crossref journal-article
AIP Publishing
Journal of Applied Physics (317)
Abstract

Ferroelectric domain walls are a completely new type of functional interface, which have the potential to revolutionize nanotechnology. In addition to the emergent phenomena at domain walls, they are spatially mobile and can be injected, positioned, and deleted on demand, giving a new degree of flexibility that is not available at conventional interfaces. Progress in the field is closely linked to the development of modern microscopy methods, which are essential for studying their physical properties at the nanoscale. In this article, we discuss scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as a powerful and highly flexible imaging technique for scale-bridging studies on domain walls, continuously covering nano- to mesoscopic length scales. We review seminal SEM experiments on ferroelectric domains and domain walls, provide practical information on how to visualize them in modern SEMs, and provide a comprehensive overview of the models that have been proposed to explain the contrast formation in SEM. Going beyond basic imaging experiments, recent examples for nano-structuring and correlated microscopy work on ferroelectric domain walls are presented. Other techniques, such as 3D atom probe tomography, are particularly promising and may be combined with SEM in the future to investigate individual domain walls, providing new opportunities for tackling the complex nanoscale physics and defect chemistry at ferroelectric domain walls.

Bibliography

Hunnestad, K. A., Roede, E. D., van Helvoort, A. T. J., & Meier, D. (2020). Characterization of ferroelectric domain walls by scanning electron microscopy. Journal of Applied Physics, 128(19).

Authors 4
  1. K. A. Hunnestad (first)
  2. E. D. Roede (additional)
  3. A. T. J. van Helvoort (additional)
  4. D. Meier (additional)
References 119 Referenced 42
  1. 10.1103/PhysRev.17.475 / Phys. Rev. (1921)
  2. {'volume-title': 'Principles and Applications of Ferroelectrics and Related Materials', 'year': '2001', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c2'} / Principles and Applications of Ferroelectrics and Related Materials (2001)
  3. 10.1038/nmat1804 / Nat. Mater. (2007)
  4. 10.1038/nature02018 / Nature (2003)
  5. 10.1038/nature16463 / Nature (2016)
  6. 10.1038/natrevmats.2017.4 / Nat. Rev. Mater. (2017)
  7. 10.1038/s41586-019-1092-8 / Nature (2019)
  8. 10.1080/01411590902936138 / Phase Transit. (2009)
  9. 10.1103/RevModPhys.84.119 / Rev. Mod. Phys. (2012)
  10. 10.1088/0953-8984/27/46/463003 / J. Phys. Condens. Matter (2015)
  11. {'volume-title': 'Domain Walls—From Fundamental Properties to Nanotechnology Concepts', 'year': '2020', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c11'} / Domain Walls—From Fundamental Properties to Nanotechnology Concepts (2020)
  12. 10.1515/psr-2019-0067 / Phys. Sci. Rev. (2020)
  13. 10.1038/nmat2080 / Nat. Mater. (2008)
  14. 10.1038/nmat2373 / Nat. Mater. (2009)
  15. 10.1103/PhysRevB.85.020102 / Phys. Rev. B (2012)
  16. 10.1038/nature06352 / Nature (2007)
  17. 10.1038/nmat4878 / Nat. Mater. (2017)
  18. 10.1038/nmat4799 / Nat. Mater. (2017)
  19. 10.1038/s41563-020-0765-x / Nat. Mater. (2020)
  20. 10.1088/0022-3727/44/46/464003 / J. Phys. D Appl. Phys. (2011)
  21. 10.1038/s41467-019-09650-8 / Nat. Commun. (2019)
  22. 10.1063/1.108579 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (1993)
  23. 10.1080/10408430903362230 / Crit. Rev. Solid State Mater. Sci. (2010)
  24. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.127601 / Phys. Rev. Lett. (2011)
  25. 10.1002/adma.201102254 / Adv. Mater. (2011)
  26. 10.1038/nmat3249 / Nat. Mater. (2012)
  27. 10.1002/adfm.201201174 / Adv. Funct. Mater. (2012)
  28. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.077203 / Phys. Rev. Lett. (2012)
  29. 10.1038/ncomms2839 / Nat. Commun. (2013)
  30. 10.1038/nmat4168 / Nat. Mater. (2015)
  31. 10.1038/ncomms15105 / Nat. Commun. (2017)
  32. 10.1063/1.4879260 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (2014)
  33. 10.1088/1742-6596/592/1/012120 / J. Phys. Conf. Ser. (2015)
  34. 10.1039/C7NR00217C / Nanoscale (2017)
  35. 10.1063/1.5117881 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (2019)
  36. 10.1038/nnano.2015.108 / Nat. Nanotechnol. (2015)
  37. 10.1038/srep33098 / Sci. Rep. (2016)
  38. 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.5.054009 / Phys. Rev. Appl. (2016)
  39. 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.074410 / Phys. Rev. Mater. (2017)
  40. 10.1088/0034-4885/57/9/002 / Rep. Prog. Phys. (1994)
  41. 10.1063/1.1754829 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (1967)
  42. 10.1016/S0304-3991(81)80178-7 / Ultramicroscopy (1981)
  43. 10.1002/pssa.2210860113 / Phys. Status Solidi A (1984)
  44. {'volume-title': 'Domains in Ferroic Crystals and Thin Films', 'year': '2010', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c44'} / Domains in Ferroic Crystals and Thin Films (2010)
  45. 10.1103/PhysRevB.80.104110 / Phys. Rev. B (2009)
  46. 10.1103/PhysRevB.80.060102 / Phys. Rev. B (2009)
  47. 10.1103/PhysRevB.75.094110 / Phys. Rev. B (2007)
  48. 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.235313 / Phys. Rev. B (2011)
  49. 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.184104 / Phys. Rev. B (2011)
  50. 10.1038/s41524-018-0121-8 / npj Comput. Mater. (2018)
  51. 10.1038/s42254-020-0235-z / Nat. Rev. Phys. (2020)
  52. 10.1038/s41427-018-0102-x / NPG Asia Mater. (2019)
  53. 10.1007/s00340-005-1989-9 / Appl. Phys. B (2005)
  54. 10.1088/1361-648X/ab68f3 / J. Phys. Condens. Matter (2020)
  55. 10.1063/1.1654188 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (1972)
  56. 10.1007/BF01695179 / Czech. J. Phys. B (1967)
  57. 10.1103/PhysRevX.2.041022 / Phys. Rev. X (2012)
  58. 10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041014 / Phys. Rev. X (2017)
  59. 10.1038/nmat2632 / Nat. Mater. (2010)
  60. 10.1021/nl301432z / Nano Lett. (2012)
  61. 10.1038/s41565-018-0253-5 / Nat. Nanotechnol. (2018)
  62. 10.1126/science.1152800 / Science (2008)
  63. 10.1063/1.4813755 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (2013)
  64. 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b01288 / Nano Lett. (2017)
  65. 10.1038/s41467-019-13474-x / Nat. Commun. (2019)
  66. {'key': '2024042620513238800_c66', 'first-page': '15', 'volume': '117', 'year': '1942', 'journal-title': 'ASTM Bull.'} / ASTM Bull. (1942)
  67. {'key': '2024042620513238800_c67', 'first-page': '87', 'volume-title': 'Electron Microscopy of Polymers', 'author': 'Michler', 'year': '2008'} / Electron Microscopy of Polymers by Michler (2008)
  68. {'edition': '2nd ed', 'volume-title': 'Scanning Electron Microscopy', 'year': '1998', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c68'} / Scanning Electron Microscopy (1998)
  69. 10.1080/00150198908018081 / Ferroelectrics (1989)
  70. 10.1143/JJAP.12.1723 / Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (1973)
  71. 10.1080/07315178608200465 / Ferroelectr. Lett. Sect. (1986)
  72. {'volume-title': 'Physical Principles of Electron Microscopy', 'year': '2005', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c72'} / Physical Principles of Electron Microscopy (2005)
  73. 10.1063/1.332840 / J. Appl. Phys. (1983)
  74. 10.1002/sca.20255 / Scanning (2011)
  75. 10.1063/1.336493 / J. Appl. Phys. (1986)
  76. 10.1002/sca.4950160207 / Scanning (1994)
  77. 10.1080/00150190600889338 / Ferroelectrics (2006)
  78. 10.1063/1.4994180 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (2017)
  79. 10.1007/s10853-016-0402-x / J. Mater. Sci. (2017)
  80. 10.1143/JJAP.45.L399 / Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (2006)
  81. 10.1002/adfm.202000284 / Adv. Funct. Mater. (2020)
  82. 10.1155/2018/7809826 / Scanning
  83. 10.1134/S1063783418090159 / Phys. Solid State (2018)
  84. 10.1103/PhysRev.98.409 / Phys. Rev. (1955)
  85. 10.1051/jphyscol:1972274 / J. Physique
  86. 10.1080/00150198908018082 / Ferroelectrics (1989)
  87. 10.1103/PhysRevB.54.6222 / Phys. Rev. B (1996)
  88. 10.1039/C8CP07632D / Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. (2019)
  89. 10.1063/1.3523359 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (2010)
  90. 10.1063/1.5115465 / Appl. Phys. Lett. (2019)
  91. 10.1080/00150190701358233 / Ferroelectrics (2007)
  92. 10.1016/j.micron.2008.02.009 / Micron (2009)
  93. 10.1016/S0968-4328(99)00005-0 / Micron (1999)
  94. 10.1088/0960-1317/11/4/301 / J. Micromech. Microeng. (2001)
  95. {'volume-title': 'Focused Ion Beam Systems: Basics and Applications', 'year': '2007', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c95'} / Focused Ion Beam Systems: Basics and Applications (2007)
  96. 10.1038/nnano.2014.320 / Nat. Nanotechnol. (2015)
  97. 10.1002/adfm.201603812 / Adv. Funct. Mater. (2016)
  98. 10.1116/1.2955728 / J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B (2008)
  99. 10.1088/0957-4484/20/37/372001 / Nanotechnology (2009)
  100. 10.1016/j.ultramic.2012.01.005 / Ultramicroscopy (2012)
  101. 10.1038/ncomms1413 / Nat. Commun. (2011)
  102. 10.1038/ncomms8361 / Nat. Commun. (2015)
  103. 10.1143/JJAP.47.9010 / Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (2008)
  104. 10.1063/1.2709758 / Rev. Sci. Instrum. (2007)
  105. 10.1557/jmr.2011.41 / J. Mater. Res. (2011)
  106. {'volume-title': 'Atom Probe Microscopy', 'year': '2012', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c106'} / Atom Probe Microscopy (2012)
  107. {'volume-title': 'Atom-Probe Tomography', 'year': '2014', 'key': '2024042620513238800_c107'} / Atom-Probe Tomography (2014)
  108. 10.1080/09506608.2016.1270728 / Int. Mater. Rev. (2018)
  109. 10.1186/1556-276X-8-39 / Nanoscale Res. Lett. (2013)
  110. 10.1111/jace.13135 / J. Am. Ceram. Soc. (2014)
  111. 10.1038/nature22032 / Nature (2017)
  112. 10.1016/j.ultramic.2006.06.008 / Ultramicroscopy (2007)
  113. 10.1016/j.ultramic.2012.09.013 / Ultramicroscopy (2013)
  114. 10.9729/AM.2016.46.1.14 / Appl. Microsc. (2016)
  115. 10.1007/978-1-4899-7430-3 / Atom-probe Tomography (2014)
  116. 10.1016/j.jmat.2015.03.002 / J. Materiomics (2015)
  117. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.4063 / Phys. Rev. Lett. (1995)
  118. 10.1038/s41563-020-0656-1 / Nat. Mater. (2020)
  119. 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1997.tb02955.x / J. Am. Ceram. Soc. (1997)
Dates
Type When
Created 4 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 17, 2020, 7:35 a.m.)
Deposited 2 months, 3 weeks ago (May 27, 2025, 3:16 p.m.)
Indexed 1 day, 20 hours ago (Aug. 19, 2025, 6:50 a.m.)
Issued 4 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 17, 2020)
Published 4 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 17, 2020)
Published Online 4 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 17, 2020)
Published Print 4 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 21, 2020)
Funders 4
  1. Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet 10.13039/100009123

    Region: Europe

    gov (Universities (academic only))

    Labels4
    1. Norwegian University of Science and Technology
    2. The Norwegian University for Technology an Sciences
    3. Universidad Noruega de Ciencia y Tecnología
    4. NTNU
    Awards1
    1. Onsager Fellowship
  2. Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet 10.13039/100009123

    Region: Europe

    gov (Universities (academic only))

    Labels4
    1. Norwegian University of Science and Technology
    2. The Norwegian University for Technology an Sciences
    3. Universidad Noruega de Ciencia y Tecnología
    4. NTNU
    Awards1
    1. Outstanding Academic Fellow Program
  3. H2020 European Research Council 10.13039/100010663

    Region: Europe

    gov (National government)

    Labels17
    1. H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council
    2. European Research Council
    3. H2020 Wissenschaftsexzellenz - Für das Einzelziel 'Europäischer Forschungsrat (ERC)'
    4. H2020 Ciencia Excelente - Consejo Europeo de Investigación (CEI)
    5. H2020 Excellence Scientifique - Conseil européen de la recherche (CER)
    6. H2020 Eccellenza Scientifica - Consiglio europeo della ricerca (CER)
    7. H2020 Doskonała Baza Naukowa - Europejska Rada ds. Badań Naukowych (ERBN)
    8. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council
    9. WISSENSCHAFTSEXZELLENZ - Für das Einzelziel 'Europäischer Forschungsrat
    10. CIENCIA EXCELENTE - Consejo Europeo de Investigación
    11. EXCELLENCE SCIENTIFIQUE - Conseil européen de la recherche
    12. ECCELLENZA SCIENTIFICA - Consiglio europeo della ricerca
    13. DOSKONAŁA BAZA NAUKOWA - Europejska Rada ds. Badań Naukowych
    14. ERC
    15. CEI
    16. CER
    17. ERBN
    Awards1
    1. 863691
  4. Research Council of Norway, NorFab
    Awards1
    1. 295864

@article{Hunnestad_2020, title={Characterization of ferroelectric domain walls by scanning electron microscopy}, volume={128}, ISSN={1089-7550}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0029284}, DOI={10.1063/5.0029284}, number={19}, journal={Journal of Applied Physics}, publisher={AIP Publishing}, author={Hunnestad, K. A. and Roede, E. D. and van Helvoort, A. T. J. and Meier, D.}, year={2020}, month=nov }