通过机械可调量子隧穿揭示的减小尺寸下的增强挠曲电性
Enhanced flexoelectricity at reduced dimensions revealed by mechanically tunable quantum tunnelling
摘要：
挠曲电性是一种普遍的机电耦合效应，所有介电材料都响应于应变梯度而挠曲。特别是，纳米挠曲电承诺奇异的现象和功能，但需要可靠的表征方法来释放其潜力。在这里，我们报告的量子隧穿，允许表征纳米挠曲电的异常机械控制。通过施加应变梯度与原子力显微镜的尖端，我们系统地研究了一个非极性的SrTiO $_{3}$薄膜，并同时测量隧道电流作为应变梯度的函数，所测得的隧道电流表现出临界行为，这表明大修改隧道势垒轮廓通过挠曲电。进一步分析这一关键行为揭示了显着增强的flexocoupling强度在SrTiO $_{3}$，相比，在散装，使flexoelectricity更有效的纳米尺度。我们的研究不仅提出了可能的应用开发动态力学控制的量子效应，但也铺平了道路，以表征纳米挠曲电。
英文摘要：
Flexoelectricity is a universal electromechanical coupling effect whereby all dielectric materials polarize in response to strain gradients. In particular, nanoscale flexoelectricity promises exotic phenomena and functions, but reliable characterization methods are required to unlock its potential. Here, we report anomalous mechanical control of quantum tunnelling that allows for characterizing nanoscale flexoelectricity. By applying strain gradients with an atomic force microscope tip, we systematically polarize an ultrathin film of otherwise nonpolar SrTiO$_{3}$, and simultaneously measure tunnel current across it. The measured tunnel current exhibits critical behaviour as a function of strain gradients, which manifests large modification of tunnel barrier profiles via flexoelectricity. Further analysis of this critical behaviour reveals significantly enhanced flexocoupling strength in ultrathin SrTiO$_{3}$, compared to that in bulk, rendering flexoelectricity more potent at the nanoscale. Our study not only suggests possible applications exploiting dynamic mechanical control of quantum effect, but also paves the way to characterize nanoscale flexoelectricity.
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