Coupling of bias-induced crystallographic shear planes with charged domain walls in ferroelectric oxide thin films

Polar discontinuity at interfaces plays deterministic roles in charge transport, magnetism, and even superconductivity of functional oxides. To date, most polar discontinuity problems have been explored in heterointerfaces between two dissimilar materials. Here, we show that charged domain walls (CDWs) in epitaxial thin films of ferroelectric PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 are strongly coupled to polar interfaces through the formation of 12〈101〉{h0l}- type crystallographic shear planes (CSPs). Using atomic resolution imaging and spectroscopy we illustrate that the CSPs consist of both conservative and nonconservative segments when coupled to the CDWs where necessary compensating charges for stabilizing the CDWs are associated with vacancies at the CSPs. The CDW/CSP coupling yields an atomically narrow domain wall, consisting of a single atomic layer of oxygen. This study shows that the CDW/CSP coupling is a fascinating venue to develop emergent material properties.