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<p>Polar skyrmions are topologically nontrivial polarization textures that demonstrate exotic physical phenomena and novel memory applications. Thus far, these textures have primarily been reported in oxide-ferroelectric-based epitaxial heterostructures because their stabilization requires an elastic energy penalty from the epitaxial strains. Here, without the epitaxial-strain engineering, we discover polar skyrmion bubbles in stand-alone van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> crystal through the combination of piezoelectric force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and phase-field simulations. In a thick CuInP<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub> flake of over −100 nm, skyrmion bubbles feature an elliptical hedgehog-like state with center-divergent or center-convergent configurations. Progressively thinning the flake thickness to −8 nm allows a topological transition from elliptical to circular skyrmionic patterns. Interestingly, the skyrmions can be switched with the change in helicity by probe-applied electrical and mechanical stimuli, which is distinct from the creation and annihilation of other reported skyrmions. Both theoretical and experimental data proves that the formation and thickness-dependence of skyrmion textures primarily stem from charge-related energy penalty. This work opens up a new material system (i.e., two-dimensional layered ferroionic materials) for exploring uncharted polar-topology physics and prospective neuromorphic devices.</p>

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Observation of switchable polar skyrmion bubbles down to the atomic layers in van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年3月8日

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  • Fei Xue,
  • Chenhui Zhang,
  • Sizheng Zheng,
  • Peiran Tong,
  • Baoyu Wang,
  • Yong Peng,
  • Zhongyi Wang,
  • Haoran Xu,
  • Youshui He,
  • Hongzhi Zhou,
  • Nan Wang,
  • Peng Han,
  • Youyou Yuan,
  • Yinchang Ma,
  • Chu Huan,
  • Senfu Zhang,
  • Hongliang Chen,
  • Haiming Zhu,
  • Yang Xu,
  • Bin Yu,
  • Jian Sun,
  • Hua Wang,
  • Peng Chen,
  • Xingsen Gao,
  • Kai Chang,
  • He Tian,
  • Jie Wang,
  • Xixiang Zhang

摘要

Polar skyrmions are topologically nontrivial polarization textures that demonstrate exotic physical phenomena and novel memory applications. Thus far, these textures have primarily been reported in oxide-ferroelectric-based epitaxial heterostructures because their stabilization requires an elastic energy penalty from the epitaxial strains. Here, without the epitaxial-strain engineering, we discover polar skyrmion bubbles in stand-alone van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6 crystal through the combination of piezoelectric force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and phase-field simulations. In a thick CuInP2S6 flake of over −100 nm, skyrmion bubbles feature an elliptical hedgehog-like state with center-divergent or center-convergent configurations. Progressively thinning the flake thickness to −8 nm allows a topological transition from elliptical to circular skyrmionic patterns. Interestingly, the skyrmions can be switched with the change in helicity by probe-applied electrical and mechanical stimuli, which is distinct from the creation and annihilation of other reported skyrmions. Both theoretical and experimental data proves that the formation and thickness-dependence of skyrmion textures primarily stem from charge-related energy penalty. This work opens up a new material system (i.e., two-dimensional layered ferroionic materials) for exploring uncharted polar-topology physics and prospective neuromorphic devices.