| Abstract Scope |
The control of conductivity is critical to any electronic device. I will discuss innovative strategies that allow for controlling conductivity on demand and with nanoscale spatial precision, by utilizing low-dimensional defects. For this study, we choose the ferroelectric oxide ErMnO3 as model material, because it offers a variety of domain walls with unusual transport properties, as well as outstanding structural and chemical flexibility. Crucially, as I will show, the system exhibits pronounced responses to applied electric fields and readily accommodates point defects, providing multiple possibilities to control conductivity at the local scale. On the one hand, our research establishes conceptually new pathways for controlling and processing of electronic signals at the nanoscale. On the other hand, the results demonstrate how the functionality of ferroelectric oxides can be enhanced without increasing their elemental footprint, foreshadowing interesting opportunities for the recycling/upcycling of electronic components that rely on the defect-induced functional properties. |