Unexpected behavior in ferroelectric materials explored by
researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory
supports a new approach to information storage and processing.
Ferroelectric materials are known for their ability to
spontaneously switch polarization when an electric field is applied. Using a
scanning probe microscope, the ORNL-led team took advantage of this property to
draw areas of switched polarization called domains on the surface of a
ferroelectric material. To the researchers’ surprise, when written in dense
arrays, the domains began forming complex and unpredictable patterns on the material’s
surface.