Direct Thermal Imaging of Domain Wall Hot Spots in LiNbO3

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Lynch, Lindsey R., Gregg, J. Marty, Kumar, Amit, Holsgrove, Kristina M., McQuaid, Raymond G. P.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Lynch, Lindsey R.
Gregg, J. Marty
Kumar, Amit
Holsgrove, Kristina M.
McQuaid, Raymond G. P.
author_facet Lynch, Lindsey R.
Gregg, J. Marty
Kumar, Amit
Holsgrove, Kristina M.
McQuaid, Raymond G. P.
contents Ferroelectric domain wall devices offer a promising route to low-voltage, reconfigurable nanoelectronics by confining currents to nanoscale conducting interfaces within an insulating bulk. However, the potential for resistive heating and unregulated temperature increases due to domain wall conduction remains unexplored. Here, scanning thermal microscopy is employed to directly image hot spots in thin-film lithium niobate domain wall devices. Piezoresponse force microscopy shows that the hot spots correlate with nanodomain structure, and thermal mapping reveals surface temperature rises of ~20 K at most, levels that are unlikely to negatively affect device performance. This is due to the moderate electrical conductivity of domain walls, their voltage-tunable erasure, and distributed current pathways, which inherently limit power dissipation and peak temperatures. Finite element electrothermal modelling indicates that domain walls behave as pseudo-planar heat sources, distinct from the filament-based heating typically observed in resistive switching oxides. These findings highlight the potential for domain wall devices as an energy-efficient, thermally stable platform for emerging memory and logic applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_20591
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Direct Thermal Imaging of Domain Wall Hot Spots in LiNbO3
Lynch, Lindsey R.
Gregg, J. Marty
Kumar, Amit
Holsgrove, Kristina M.
McQuaid, Raymond G. P.
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Ferroelectric domain wall devices offer a promising route to low-voltage, reconfigurable nanoelectronics by confining currents to nanoscale conducting interfaces within an insulating bulk. However, the potential for resistive heating and unregulated temperature increases due to domain wall conduction remains unexplored. Here, scanning thermal microscopy is employed to directly image hot spots in thin-film lithium niobate domain wall devices. Piezoresponse force microscopy shows that the hot spots correlate with nanodomain structure, and thermal mapping reveals surface temperature rises of ~20 K at most, levels that are unlikely to negatively affect device performance. This is due to the moderate electrical conductivity of domain walls, their voltage-tunable erasure, and distributed current pathways, which inherently limit power dissipation and peak temperatures. Finite element electrothermal modelling indicates that domain walls behave as pseudo-planar heat sources, distinct from the filament-based heating typically observed in resistive switching oxides. These findings highlight the potential for domain wall devices as an energy-efficient, thermally stable platform for emerging memory and logic applications.
title Direct Thermal Imaging of Domain Wall Hot Spots in LiNbO3
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.20591