Continuously tunable ferroelectric domain width down to the single-atomic limit in bismuth tellurite

Emerging functionalities in two-dimensional materials, such as ferromagnetism, superconductivity and ferroelectricity, open new avenues for promising nanoelectronic applications. Here, we report the discovery of intrinsic in-plane room-temperature ferroelectricity in two-dimensional Bi 2 TeO 5 grown by chemical vapor deposition, where spontaneous polarization originates from Bi column displacements. We found an intercalated buffer layer consist of mixed Bi/Te column as 180° domain wall which enables facile polarized domain engineering, including continuously tunable domain width by pinning different concentration of buffer layers, and even ferroelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition when the polarization unit is pinned down to single atomic column. More interestingly, the intercalated Bi/Te buffer layer can interconvert to polarized Bi columns which end up with series terraced domain walls and unusual fan-shaped ferroelectric domain. The buffer layer induced size and shape tunable ferroelectric domain in two-dimensional Bi 2 TeO 5 offer insights into the manipulation of functionalities in van der Waals materials for future nanoelectronics. Tunability of ferroelectric domain structure is significant in ferroelectric materials. Here, the authors present in-plane ferroelectricity in 2D Bi 2 TeO 5 in which the ferroelectric domain size and shape can be continuously tuned by the Bi/Te ratio.