Tuning Topology Phases by Controlling Effective Screening and Depolarization in Oxide Superlattices

Polar topological phases in oxide superlattices attracted significant attention due to their unique properties. Previous work revealed that a polar vortex and polar skyrmions exist in (PTO)/(STO) superlattices under different elastic constraints, i.e., on different substrates. Here, our phase-field simulation demonstrates that manipulating the PTO and STO layers’ thickness can control the effective screening provided by STO and the depolarization degree in PTO, thus switching the system among the polar skyrmions, vortex labyrinth, or paraelectric phase without changing elastic constraints. Additionally, reducing the STO thickness creates interlayer coupling among PTO layers, generating the long-range order of topological phases within superlattices. Furthermore, we construct a PTO-STO thickness topological phase diagram. These findings offer insights into the polar topological phases’ formation in oxide superlattices, elucidating the roles of ferroelectric and paraelectric layers in their formation.