Abstract

Ferroelectrics were discovered in 1922, but their properties have only been seriously investigated since just before the second world war. Ferromagnetics, on the other hand, were being used in functional devices (ornate compasses) many centuries BC. With a headstart of several millenia, it is not entirely surprising that the extent to which domains are understood and can be actively controlled in ferromagnets is significantly beyond that currently evident in ferroelectrics. (i) The mapping and understanding of flux-closure structures; (ii) The manner in which heterogeneity in electric fields (induced by patterning) can be used to exert control over domain wall injection and motion.

In an attempt to play catch up, interested teams in Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Cambridge have been examining domain structures in meso and nanoscale ferroelectrics, cut directly from high purity bulk single crystals using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) milling. This specimen preparation technique seems to give particularly clear insight into domain behaviour in constrained geometries.

In this seminar, two main areas of the research done to date will be described: