Abstract
In numerous functional materials, such as steels, ferroelectrics and magnets, new functionalities can be achieved through the engineering of the domain structures, which are associated with the ordering of certain parameters within the material. The recent progress in technologies that enable imaging at atomic-scale spatial resolution has transformed our understanding of domain topology, revealing that, along with simple stripe-like or irregularly shaped domains, intriguing vortex-type topological domain configurations also exist. In this Review, we present a new classification scheme of Z m Z n domains with Z l vortices' for 2D macroscopic domain structures with m directional variants and n translational antiphases. This classification, together with the concepts of topological protection and topological charge conservation, can be applied to a wide range of materials, such as multiferroics, improper ferroelectrics, layered transition metal dichalcogenides and magnetic superconductors, as we discuss using selected examples. The resulting topological considerations provide a new basis for the understanding of the formation, kinetics, manipulation and property optimization of domains and domain boundaries in functional materials.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 17004 |
| Journal | Nature Reviews Materials |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 7 2017 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Biomaterials
- Energy (miscellaneous)
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Materials Chemistry