Surface‐Bound Domain Penetration and Large Wall Current

Abstract By controlling the domain nucleation in ferroelectric mesa‐like cells formed at the surfaces of X‐cut LiNbO 3 single‐crystal films that are integrated with Si substrates, growth of a surface‐bound needle‐like domain is observed in a quarter‐ellipsoidal shape. This domain, which extends in the major polar direction, contracts into several equilibrium segments with unequal lengths after removal of the in‐plane applied electric fields. The curved wall region located near the domain tip that connects the two top nanoelectrodes exhibits 12‐fold magnification of the on‐current when compared with the straight wall region near the tail. The field‐dependent flexible domain length and the high electrical conduction in the tip region promote crossbar integration of high‐density multilevel information‐storing memory devices and selectors with sufficient readout currents, thus enabling data‐intensive applications to be performed using domain wall microelectronics.