Avalanche criticality in LaAlO3 and the effect of aspect ratio

John J. R. Scott*, Blai Casals, King-Fa Luo, Atta Haq, Davide Mariotti, Ekhard K. H. Salje, Miryam Arredondo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)
148 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Ferroic domain dynamics, as a function of external stimuli, can be collectively described as scale-invariant avalanches characterised by a critical exponent that are sensitive to the complexity of the domain microstructure. The understanding and manipulation of these avalanches lies at the heart of developing novel applications such as neuromorphic computing. Here we combine in situ heating optical observations and mean-field analysis to investigate the collective domain behaviour in pure-ferroelastic lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) as a function of aspect ratio, the ratio of sample length to width, where the movement of the domains is predominantly driven by thermal stresses via thermal expansion/contraction during heat cycling. Our observations demonstrate that the aspect ratio induces (1) distinctive domain microstructures at room temperature, (2) a deviation of dynamical behaviour at high temperatures and (3) critical exponent mixing in the higher aspect ratio samples that accompanies this behaviour. While the critical exponents of each aspect ratio fall within mean-field predicted values, we highlight the effect that the aspect ratio has in inducing exponent mixing. Hence, furthering our understanding towards tuning and controlling avalanches which is crucial for fundamental and applied research.

Original languageEnglish
Article number14818
Number of pages9
JournalScientific Reports
Volume12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01 Sept 2022

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Avalanche criticality in LaAlO3 and the effect of aspect ratio'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this