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- Title
Switchable tribology of ferroelectrics.
- Authors
Cho, Seongwoo; Gaponenko, Iaroslav; Cordero-Edwards, Kumara; Barceló-Mercader, Jordi; Arias, Irene; Kim, Daeho; Lichtensteiger, Céline; Yeom, Jiwon; Musy, Loïc; Kim, Hyunji; Han, Seung Min; Catalan, Gustau; Paruch, Patrycja; Hong, Seungbum
- Abstract
Switchable tribological properties of ferroelectrics offer an alternative route to visualize and control ferroelectric domains. Here, we observe the switchable friction and wear behavior of ferroelectrics using a nanoscale scanning probe—down domains have lower friction coefficients and show slower wear rates than up domains and can be used as smart masks. This asymmetry is enabled by flexoelectrically coupled polarization in the up and down domains under a sufficiently high contact force. Moreover, we determine that this polarization-sensitive tribological asymmetry is widely applicable across various ferroelectrics with different chemical compositions and crystalline symmetry. Finally, using this switchable tribology and multi-pass patterning with a domain-based dynamic smart mask, we demonstrate three-dimensional nanostructuring exploiting the asymmetric wear rates of up and down domains, which can, furthermore, be scaled up to technologically relevant (mm–cm) size. These findings demonstrate that ferroelectrics are electrically tunable tribological materials at the nanoscale for versatile applications. The interaction of flexoelectric polarization arising from strain gradients with ferroelectricity impacts tribological properties and facilitates fine physical lithography without masks or chemicals, with potential applications in various fields.
- Subjects
FERROELECTRIC crystals; TRIBOLOGY; MECHANICAL wear; NANOSTRUCTURED materials; STRAINS &; stresses (Mechanics); FERROELECTRICITY; SMART structures
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2024, Vol 15, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-44346-0