Conduction control at ferroic domain walls via external stimuli

Abstract

Intriguing functionalities at nano-sized domain walls have recently spawned a new paradigmfor developing novel nanoelectronics due to versatile characteristics. In this study, we explore a new scenario to modulate the local conduction of ferroic domain walls. Three controlling parameters, i.e., external electrical field, magnetic field and light, are introduced to the 90 degrees domain walls (90 degrees DWs) of BiFeO3. Electrical modulation is realized by electrical transport, where the mobility of 90 degrees DWs can be altered by gating voltage. We further use the ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic coupling to reveal the inherent magnetism at the DWs. With an established magnetic nature, magneto-transport has been conducted to introduce magnetic controlling parameter, where a giant positive magnetoresistance change can be observed up to 200%. In addition, light modulated conduction, a core factor for multifunctional applications, is successfully demonstrated (current enhancement by a factor of 2 with 11 W white lamp). These results offer new insights to discover the tunability of domain wall nanoelectronics.