Switchable tribology of ferroelectrics

Seongwoo Cho (), Iaroslav Gaponenko, Kumara Cordero-Edwards, Jordi Barceló-Mercader, Irene Arias, Daeho Kim, Céline Lichtensteiger, Jiwon Yeom, Loïc Musy, Hyunji Kim, Seung Min Han, Gustau Catalan, Patrycja Paruch () and Seungbum Hong ()
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Seongwoo Cho: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Iaroslav Gaponenko: University of Geneva
Kumara Cordero-Edwards: University of Geneva
Jordi Barceló-Mercader: Polytechnic University of Catalonia
Irene Arias: Polytechnic University of Catalonia
Daeho Kim: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Céline Lichtensteiger: University of Geneva
Jiwon Yeom: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Loïc Musy: University of Geneva
Hyunji Kim: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Seung Min Han: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Gustau Catalan: Campus Autonomous University of Barcelona
Patrycja Paruch: University of Geneva
Seungbum Hong: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44346-0

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