When Screening Current Controls Ferroelectric Switching: From Field-Limited to Current-Limited Regimes
Abstract
Tip-induced switching in ferroelectrics is commonly framed as a field-driven process controlled by domain-wall kinetics. Here we argue for a more universal viewpoint: under a scanning probe, polarization reversal is fundamentally constrained by how fast screening charge can be supplied and redistributed. By combining local switching experiments with finite-element simulations, we identify a screening-current-limited mechanism in which charge injection and its space-charge-limited relaxation set the pace of switching and the scaling of domain growth. This framework naturally explains regime changes and the apparent breakdown of intrinsic domain-wall laws often inferred in the nanoscale piezoelectric hysteresis measurements. Beyond a reinterpretation of tip switching, the results position screening currents as a hidden control parameter of ferroelectric reversal across materials, turning current regulation into a practical handle for deterministic nanoscale domain engineering.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{alikin2026when,
title = {{When Screening Current Controls Ferroelectric Switching: From Field-Limited to Current-Limited Regimes}},
author = {Denis Alikin and Anastasya Meng and Michael Kosobokov and Semen Melnikov and Violetta Safina},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.04481},
eprint = {2606.04481},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.04481},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - When Screening Current Controls Ferroelectric Switching: From Field-Limited to Current-Limited Regimes
AU - Denis Alikin
AU - Anastasya Meng
AU - Michael Kosobokov
AU - Semen Melnikov
AU - Violetta Safina
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.04481
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.04481
AB - Tip-induced switching in ferroelectrics is commonly framed as a field-driven process controlled by domain-wall kinetics. Here we argue for a more universal viewpoint: under a scanning probe, polarization reversal is fundamentally constrained by how fast screening charge can be supplied and redistributed. By combining local switching experiments with finite-element simulations, we identify a screening-current-limited mechanism in which charge injection and its space-charge-limited relaxation set the pace of switching and the scaling of domain growth. This framework naturally explains regime changes and the apparent breakdown of intrinsic domain-wall laws often inferred in the nanoscale piezoelectric hysteresis measurements. Beyond a reinterpretation of tip switching, the results position screening currents as a hidden control parameter of ferroelectric reversal across materials, turning current regulation into a practical handle for deterministic nanoscale domain engineering.
ER -