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Miniature of electronic devices is attractive yet challenging due to structural variation at nanoscale. Here, Gao et al. report atomic imaging of reconstruction and unusual domain walls on Pb(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃surfaces, providing possibilities to engineer nanoscale structural change.

The insertion of thin layers of cobalt can stabilize β-tungsten under back-end-of-line thermal constraints, allowing a 64-kb spin–orbit torque magnetic random-access memory to be fabricated that offers a spin–orbit torque switching of 1 ns, data retention of more than 10 years and a tunnelling magnetoresistance of 146%.

The remote, non-volatile and reversible optical control of ferroic orders is challenging. Here, using laser illumination, multiple orders in epitaxial mixed-phase BiFeO₃ are manipulated deterministically using a thermally driven flexoelectric effect.

Understanding ferroelectricity at reduced dimensions will be important for future sub-nanoscale devices based on ferroelectrics. Using high resolution electron microscopy; Gaoet al., observe the existence of a measurable polarization at a thickness of just 1.5-unit cells

Despite various known topological polar structures, the dynamic property of isolated ones is still poorly understood. Here, the authors show the controlled nucleation and ability to move of isolated three-fold vertices under an applied electric field.

The periodic domain pattern of BiFeO₃ enables the anisotropic superconductivity in YBa₂Cu₃O_7 − x. In this work, we introduce a design of periodic multiferroic domain patterns to create the anisotropic superconductivity. High T_C can be found when we measured the resistance parallel to the domain wall direction and the broader transition with lower T_C is found to be perpendicular to the domain walls. (a) and (b) the resistance versus temperature in YBa₂Cu₃O_7 − x/BiFeO₃ heterostructures with two different domain patterns 109° and 71°, respectively.

Light-induced deformation known as photostriction could be used for green energy devices but in most materials the effect is too small to be of practical use. Here, Weiet al. study the photostriction of strontium ruthenate and find photon-induced strain efficiencies of more than one percent.

Ferroelectric reliability must be solved prior to practical non-volatile electronic devices based on magnetoelectric multiferroics. Here, Hsiehet al. report a long lasting ferroelectric retention in the heteroepitaxially constrained multiferroic mesocrystal.

BiFeO₃ has a wide application but the impact of rare-earth substitution for the evolution of the coupling mechanism is unknown. Here, the authors reveal the correlation between ferroelectricity, antiferromagnetism, a weak ferromagnetic moment, and their switching pathways in La-substituted BiFeO₃.

Electrical control of the spin degree of freedom has enabled various vital applications in modern electronic devices, ranging from magnetoelectronics and spintronics to high-frequency devices. We demonstrate a new approach to ‘write’ enhanced magnetization in a single-phase multiferroic thin film by the application of an electric field. The induced magnetization can be controlled with nanoscopic precision via the assistance of scanning probe techniques, thus offering high potential for use in multifunctional, low power consumption and green nanoelectronics.

We developed a self-assembled nanocomposite photoanode composed of epitaxial BiVO₄ (BVO) matrix embedded with WO₃ (WO) mesocrystal for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting in the visible-light regime. The well-defined WO₃-BiVO₄ interface and controllable thickness provide a template for the fundamental understanding of photoactivity in the nanocomposite. The interfacial coupling of the mesocrystal and matrix improves the separation of photoexcited carriers and the properties of charge transfer, resulting in a significantly enhanced PEC performance. The utilization of the interface-to-volume ratio to optimize the charge interaction of the nanocomposite is essential for the advance design of novel mesocrystal-embedded nanocomposite photoelectrodes.