Domain evolution in BiFeO₃ epitaxial nanoisland array via post-annealing

Abstract

We describe the impact of post-annealing on ferroelectric-domain structures in arrays of BiFeO3 (BFO) epitaxial nanoislands, which exhibit a domain evolution from an initial 71° stripe/vortex domains to center-convergent topological domains. These results suggest that the increase and redistribution of charged defects, e.g., oxygen vacancies, in BFO nanoislands play a crucial role in driving the formation of center-type domain structures. The observation of defect-driven domain evolution in BFO nanoislands provides a path for further exploring their formation mechanism, topological properties, novel functionalities, and potential applications.