# Exploring Domain Wall Pinning in Ferroelectrics via Automated High Throughput AFM

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24062 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.24062/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 1 of its 15 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 29 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Automated Materials Discovery Platform Realized: Scanning Probe Microscopy of Combinatorial Libraries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.18067/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Domain-wall dynamics in ferroelectric materials are strongly position-dependent since each polar interface is locked into a unique local microstructure. This necessitates spatially resolved studies of the wall-pinning using scanning-probe microscopy techniques. The pinning centers and preexisting domain walls are usually sparse within image plane, precluding the use of dense hyperspectral imaging modes and requiring time-consuming human experimentation. Here, a large area epitaxial PbTiO3 film on cubic KTaO3 were investigated to quantify the electric field driven dynamics of the polar-strain domain structures using ML-controlled automated Piezoresponse Force Microscopy. Analysis of 1500 switching events reveals that domain wall displacement depends not only on field parameters but also on the local ferroelectric-ferroelastic configuration. For example, twin boundaries in polydomains regions like a1^-/c^+ parallel a2^-/c^- stay pinned up to a certain level of bias magnitude and change only marginally as the bias increases from 20V to 30V, whereas single variant boundaries like a2^+/c^+ parallel a2^-/c^- stack are already activated at 20V. These statistics on the possible ferroelectric and ferroelastic wall orientations, together with the automated, high-throughput AFM workflow, can be distilled into a predictive map that links domain configurations to pulse parameters. This microstructure-specific rule set forms the foundation for designing ferroelectric memories.