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arXiv · 2408.09608

Imaging ferroelectric domains with soft X-ray ptychography at the oxygen K-edge

Tim A. Butcher·Nicholas W. Phillips·Chia-Chun Wei·Shih-Chao Chang·Igor Beinik·Karina Thånell·Jan-Chi Yang·Shih-Wen Huang·Jörg Raabe·Simone Finizio
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Abstract

The ferroelectric domain structure of a freestanding BiFeO$_3$ film was visualized by ptychographic dichroic imaging with linearly polarized X-rays at the O K-edge around 530 eV. The dichroic contrast is maximized at the energy of the hybridization of the O 2p state and the Fe 3d orbitals, which is split by the octahedral crystal field of the perovskite structure. The microscopy images thus obtained complement the ptychographic imaging of the antiferromagnetic contribution at the Fe L$_3$-edge. The approach can be extended to the separation of different ferroic contributions in other multiferroic oxides.

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Tim A. Butcher, Nicholas W. Phillips, Chia-Chun Wei, Shih-Chao Chang, Igor Beinik, Karina Thånell, Jan-Chi Yang, Shih-Wen Huang, Jörg Raabe, Simone Finizio. 2024-08-18. Imaging ferroelectric domains with soft X-ray ptychography at the oxygen K-edge. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.23.l011002

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