Electrical detection of ferroelectriclike metals through the nonlinear Hall effect

Authors

Rui-Chun Xiao, Soochow University
Ding-Fu Shao, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Wenjuan Huang, Changzhou Institute of Technology
Hua Jiang, Soochow University

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

7-27-2020

Citation

XIAO, SHAO, HUANG, AND JIANG. PHYSICAL REVIEW B 102, 024109 (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.024109

Comments

Used by permission.

Abstract

Ferroelectriclike metals are a relatively rare class of materials that have ferroelectriclike distortion and metallic conductivity. LiOsO₃ is the first demonstrated and the most investigated ferroelectriclike metal. The presence of free carriers makes them difficult to be studied by traditional ferroelectric techniques. In this paper, using symmetry analysis and first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the ferroelectriclike transition of LiOsO₃ can be probed by a kind of electrical transport method based on nonlinear Hall effect. The Berry curvature dipole exists in the ferroelectriclike phase and it can lead to a measurable nonlinear Hall conductance with a conventional experimental setup. However, the symmetry of the paraelectriclike phase LiOsO₃ vanishes the Berry curvature dipole. The Berry curvature dipole shows a strong dependence on the polar displacement, which might be helpful for the detection of polar order. The nonlinear Hall effect provides an effective method for the detection of phase transition in the study of the ferroelectriclike metals and promotes them to be applied in ferroelectriclike electronic devices.