Observation of switchable polar skyrmion bubbles down to the atomic layers in van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP₂S₆.

ABSTRACT: Polar skyrmions are topologically nontrivial polarization textures that demonstrate exotic physical phenomena and novel memory applications. Thus far, these textures have primarily been reported in oxide-ferroelectric-based epitaxial heterostructures because their stabilization requires an elastic energy penalty from the epitaxial strains. Here, without the epitaxial-strain engineering, we discover polar skyrmion bubbles in stand-alone van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP₂S₆ crystal through the combination of piezoelectric force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and phase-field simulations. In a thick CuInP₂S₆ flake of over -100 nm, skyrmion bubbles feature an elliptical hedgehog-like state with center-divergent or center

SUBMITTER: Xue F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11890734 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature