Promising news for those who relish the prospects of a one-inch
chip storing multiple terabytes of data, some clarity has been
brought to the here-to-fore confusing physics of ferroelectric
nanomaterials. A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by
scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has provided the
first atomic-scale insights into the ferroelectric properties of
nanocrystals. This information will be critical for development
of the next generation of nonvolatile data storage devices.
Atomic-resolution images of germanium telluride nanoparticles
from Berkeley Lab’s TEAM I electron microscope, and electron
holographic images of barium titanate nanoparticles (below) from
BNL yielded the first detailed experimental information on
ferroelectric order at the nanoscale. (Credit: Image courtesy of
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Working with the
world’s most powerful transmission electron microscope, the
researchers mapped the fer