Journal
NATURE
Volume 568, Issue 7752, Pages 368-+Publisher
NATURE RESEARCH
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1092-8
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Funding
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's EPiQS Initiative [GBMF5307]
- Army Research Office [W911NF-16-1-0315]
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division [DE-AC02-05-CH11231, KC2202]
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship [DGE-1106400]
- Luxembourg National Research Fund through the CORE programme [FNR/C15/MS/10458889 NEWALLS]
- National Science Foundation [DMR-1210588]
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [FIS2015-64886-C5-2-P]
- Ramon y Cajal grant [RyC-2013-12515]
- US DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences [FG02-07ER46417]
- US DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences [DE-SC-0012375]
- US DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Science [DE-AC02-06CH11357]
- DOE Office of Science User Facility [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
- Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US DOE [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
- US DOE, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division
- US DOE [DE-SC0002334]
- Cornell Center for Materials Research through the National Science Foundation MRSEC programme [DMR DMR-1719875]
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) [DE-SC0002334] Funding Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
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Complex topological configurations are fertile ground for exploring emergent phenomena and exotic phases in condensed-matter physics. For example, the recent discovery of polarization vortices and their associated complex-phase coexistence and response under applied electric fields in superlattices of (PbTiO3)(n)/(SrTiO3)(n) suggests the presence of a complex, multi-dimensional system capable of interesting physical responses, such as chirality, negative capacitance and large piezo-electric responses(1-3). Here, by varying epitaxial constraints, we discover room-temperature polar-skyrmion bubbles in a lead titanate layer confined by strontium titanate layers, which are imaged by atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Phase-field modelling and second-principles calculations reveal that the polar-skyrmion bubbles have a skyrmion number of +1, and resonant soft-X-ray diffraction experiments show circular dichroism, confirming chirality. Such nanometre-scale polar-skyrmion bubbles are the electric analogues of magnetic skyrmions, and could contribute to the advancement of ferroelectrics towards functionalities incorporating emergent chirality and electrically controllable negative capacitance.
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