Prospects for application of ferroelectric manganites with controlled vortex density

There is an urgent need for multifunctional materials that can reduce the energy demands of microelectronic devices. In ferroelectric manganites (RMnO3), R = Tm, Lu, Er, Ho, Y, Yb, the spontaneous formation of one-dimensional (1D) closed and open loop vortices has been observed when the ferroelectric manganite is cooled over its ferroelectric ordering temperature [Li et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 22, 14415–14432 (2020)], namely, 621 K (TmMnO3), 730 K (LuMnO3), 833 K (ErMnO3), 875 K (HoMnO3), 914 K (YMnO3), and 1350 K (YbMnO3). The applicability of ferroelectric YMnO3 thin films as an electroforming-free, unipolar memristor for artificial intelligence [Rayapati et al., Nanotechnology 31, 31LT01 (2020); J. Appl. Phys. 126, 074102 (2019); 124, 144102 (2018)] as the light-emitting material for double-sided electroluminescent devices [Schmidt et al., German patent pending DE102018117210.0 (17 July 2018)] and as a p-type conducting material with a large Seebeck coefficient for thermoelectrics has been demonstrated. It is expected that the vortices in ferroelectric manganites are highly conducting at room temperature. In this report, envisioned disruptive innovations based on ferroelectric manganite thin films with a top electrode and a bottom electrode where the vortex density can be reconfigured by an electric field are presented and discussed, namely, electroluminescence illumination, ultrasensitive thermoelectrics, and artificial intelligence and cryptography. Finally, a short outlook to potential applications of manganites whose vortex density is controlled by temperature gradients, electric field ramps, and light pulses in the area of low loss transformers, single photon detectors, and 5G components is given.